


The Mighty Fall

by ButterfliesTyphoon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, 進撃の巨人 | Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan (Movies)
Genre: Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Levi can be a dick, Mind Games, Multi, Power Dynamics, Protective Siblings, Sibling Rivalry, Slow Burn, Strong Female Characters, Teasing, reader is a badass, whats new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2020-10-26 07:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 42
Words: 96,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20738321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButterfliesTyphoon/pseuds/ButterfliesTyphoon
Summary: Everybody has their own personal, little secrets that they all try to protect and keep hidden. Commander Erwin Smith unveils his own secret when it seems humanity requires it most and his secret just so happens to be you.Little old you.





	1. For Who We Do Not Know.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm entirely new to this platform and still coming to grips with it all so please be nice! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's on trial and Levi is a little rough, you're amused by the shot of hope this newly revealed titan shifter brings.

It was unclear as to when the hunters had become the hunted, but one thing for sure was that humanity was slowly prying its title back with stone cold, unforgiving hands. And this time its grasp would be firm. Unrelenting in fact, with the assured promise that each horrifying creature known as the titans would be eradicated from existence. And this promise essentially took its first form in the shape of a young boy named Eren Jaeger. Therefore, it was obviously a moment of confusion and misunderstanding as this young boy stood on trial before Darius Zackly, talks of his persecution high in the air that left much more than just a few grim faces. 

There's a few familiar faces, but none pique your interest the same way in which Eren's does. There's just something so fresh and raw in those green orbs of his that you lean forward from your perch higher up inside the courtroom where nobody had seemed to spot you yet to get a better look. And that's how you intended to keep it. It was a different kind of new to listen to the way the young boy spoke so passionately in attempts of protecting his close friend, eyes alight with such a large amount of burning loyalty that it seemed to melt even your metal heart for the briefest second. The feeling passed as soon as it came though because a hushed murmur encased the courtroom the same time a stray tooth went flying across the floor. Watching with a frown, you knew better than to interfere with the actions transpiring down below but that didn't mean you had to agree with them as you surely recognised the smaller male who pressed the sole of his uniformed boot atop of Eren's head which was now crushed against the raised podium he was chained upon. If anything, it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth at the sight of this blatant injustice but you also knew that there must have been a reason to this all. Or you surely hoped there was. 

"My personal belief is that pain is the best tool for teaching discipline." His words cut cleanly through the tense atmosphere, leaving everyone enraptured because he dared to do what no one else did. "What you need now," he speaks directly to the titan shifter at his feet. "Is to be taught a lesson, not given a talking-to. And you happen to be in a perfect kicking position." His words hold no sympathy for the beaten soldier kicked down, and his eyes possess no true emotion, leading you to reluctantly remember the savage man who he is. 

Lance Corporal Levi Ackerman. Humanities supposed strongest soldier.

Your interest begins to slowly decline now, word of persecution is drowned out by the new suggestion of a recon mission and in some sake, Eren is spared with the one chance to prove himself under Lance Corporal Levi's dictation. Your gaze changes from the boy at the podium to the trembling girl whose veins are alight with rage, and something akin to delight fills you whole because she too appears to be someone who offers promise. 

"I've reached my decision." Zackly announces but you turn before he says anything more.

A light chuckle is all that passes your lips in the dead silence of the courtroom and it seems only a few are slightly close in catching your retreating form as they see a flutter of a black jacket disappear behind a pillar and hear the sound of a door clicking to a close.

Would 104 become the lucky number for humanities survival? Did those kids offer true hope for us winning? Or would the entire operation collapse before anything could be put to use? Those were just a few thoughts which ran through your head as you leisurely stalked through the corridors, noticing they were beginning to slowly plump up with people which meant the trial had now more than likely come to an end and all spectators had been dismissed. No one thought any better to bat an eyelid your way, merely looking you over the once before turning away again all the whilst you walked straight past, the heels of your shoes rhythmically clicking against the cobble stone of the floor. 

You've got one destination in mind and although you don't dare enter, you do lean against the wall besides the door which leads into the room that potentially holds humanities three best soldiers, their best commander and their next best shot at winning. You listen into their words, face void of expression as each soldier speaks. You catch the way the only female soldier present offers the titan shifter his tooth back but is promptly amazed to find the space had already been filled with a freshly grown molar. 

What an interesting twist in events this has come to be, you think. Pushing away from your spot against the wall, you spare the door one last final stare before carrying on your way down the corridor. 

Where you next find yourself is really a place you shouldn't be in at all, but it had been so easy to slip in unnoticed how could you not? It had been so tempting and who were you to deny such sweet, sweet temptation? 

Surprisingly, the room is quite pristine, the smell of oak and ink thick in the air alongside a certain scent of cologne that's just 'him'. The papers across his desk aren't exactly confidential, but you shouldn't really be reading them either as you daringly drop down into his chair and throw your feet up atop of the desk and grasp at the first file that comes to sight which you can reach. It's a medical file you come to realise, the stats you're reading being what all candidates for the military must submit before their application is confirmed. Lazily checking the front of said file, the name 'Mikasa Ackerman' is inked across it in chicken scratch and you can't help the hum of interest that passes your lips as you flick through it. 

She had been the girl back in the courtroom who looked about ready to murder the Lance Corporal without a second thought and if you recalled correctly, she had been the one to rank first in her military training as part of the 104th Training Corps. So you were right in assuming back there that this girl certainly held promise, you wondered if she would rival that of the Lance Corporal himself. Either way, her stats are something to marvel at and it leaves you questioning why she would aimlessly devote herself to somebody who clearly isn't of the same level when the door opens and a tall frame saunters inside. 

"Ah. So I was right in assuming it was you back there in the courtroom." 

Erwin closes the office door behind him and removes his brown uniform jacket, discarding it over the back of a nearby seat before moving closer to where you sit. 

"You noticed I was there?" You inquire, putting the medical files down to focus your whole attention on the blonde man in front of you who clearly didn't look any different since you'd last seen him. And it had surely been awhile.

"I wasn't so sure at first, I didn't know you were even back in the district after all. But I saw that jacket of yours and just knew." He shrugs, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world and you weigh his words out inside your head before deciding that he indeed does have a point.

You were truly never seen without that jacket on your shoulders and covering your back. The leather fraying and worn at the collar and sleeves from wear and tear and the colour faded a considerable amount from consistent use. It had been a gift from your parents all those years ago and although it had been rather large when you first received it, they had lovingly told you that you would soon grow into it. And grow into it you did. It was nothing overly special, but it was enough to garner a few extra lingering stares and you loved it. The jacket had triangle shaped lapels that flapped in the wind and silver, pretty looking clasps that ran down the right side. The material ended just above your waist and although it wasn't very conventional for the colder seasons, you would still be found constantly in it. 

"I caught news of the breach in the Trost District," you shrug, removing your feet from the top of his desk. "I thought it was about time I returned home." 

"Why? It's not like you returned home when the Shiganshina District was breached?" He refutes, and you nod once more because he makes a fair point. "What makes this one any different?" 

"I don't know...I just knew that when I caught word of it I had to return and it looks like I was right. You've successfully gained the loyalty and assured help of a titan shifter Erwin. Why aren't you out celebrating with the others? He plugged up the hole in the wall, the clean up team is out there as we speak finishing off the last few and removing everything necessary. Humanity won this one." You stand to your feet, hands splayed atop of the blonde's papers which scatter his desk as you fix him with a hard stare. You'd always struggled in trying to understand each other, and even now was no different.

"At least 819 injured and roughly 200 killed in action or missing. We took such a crucial hit to our numbers that we can't really call it a win." He replied almost robotically and in that moment you have to remind yourself that even Commander Erwin Smith gets affected by these things behind closed doors and in the privacy of his own office because he was still after all...human.

You turn your head to the side and purse your lips at your own ignorance, mumbling a brief apology which you know he hears but chooses not to acknowledge. 

"Anyway, I would love to welcome you back but the timing doesn't really permit me to do so." Erwin announces and you don't mind, because you're not really a flashy kind of person anyway and you know Erwin knows that. You lay low on the radar too much to appreciate a return celebration. "I will say though...about that trial today..." 

"You're really going to entrust that Jaeger kid directly under the Lance Corporal?" 

Erwin nods. "He is after all my best soldier, with you a close second."

You preen under his praise but sharply nod your head in reply. "So? What about the trial?" You prompt.

"I'm sending you back in." He informs you, and although you heard his words crystal clear, it takes you a moment or two to properly process them. 

"Me? Are you being serious?! I thought you swore off me fighting after what happened back then?" You notice the way your words make the Comannder wince only in the slightest before he resumes his usual stoic features.

"I did. But we're getting close to something here and I could really do with your help back with the Scouts Regiment."

You scowl. The Scouts Regiment is where the Lance Corporal and his team operates and for one, you despise the very ground he walks upon with a dying passion. 

"Still?" Erwin sighs, knowing your hatred for the specific soldier dates back to a few years prior and has been growing ever since. 

"He's a cocky little shit Erwin, I don't like him." 

"You do realise he is without a doubt our best soldier, right?" 

"I don't care." You're stubborn. "If he's involved I'm not going." 

Erwin pinches at the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "I'm not sending you in for him. I'm sending you in to monitor Eren Jaeger specifically." 

"Why?" You narrow your eyes sceptically. "Don't you trust him?"

"I do. It's Levi's team I don't trust." Your eyes widen at his honesty. "I'm sure they won't be as open to the idea of a titan shifter on their team as Levi is, so I'm sending you in to essentially look over him. Am I understood?" 

"I don't get why you need me specifically, but sure." You shrug, making your way over to the office door because you decide you have long since overstayed your visit. Grasping at the door handle, you intend to swiftly duck out of there when the Commanders voice stops you once more. 

"Oh, and welcome home." He calls fondly.

You don't turn, not wanting him to see the soft smile that pulls at your lips as you yank the door open and take your first step past the threshold. 

"Thank you big brother. It's good to be back." 

The door swings to a close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Other chapters will be longer, for now this is essentially just an introductory to the story.


	2. If Three's A Crowd Then What's Five?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's definitely strange to be back but it certainly doesn't feel all that different. Your welcoming is a shifty one though as suddenly you've got an audience?

The military life wasn't for the faint of heart. It wasn't for those wanting to get a simple, naive taste of something different or those wanting to look 'cool' in the so called 'badass' uniform. It wasn't a place where you could enlist to simply meet your hero and then flake out the next moment something got serious and the flames burned a bit hotter. It wasn't a job role, but a life style, a place that was strictly do or die because the enemy waited for no one and in this case, the enemy was the many grotesque humanoid looking titans that ate troops seemingly for the fun of it. And an enemy without moral is one of the most mortifying things any human could face.

Essentially, you swear yourself to the safety of humanity when it comes down to the bare bones of it all. Ignoring the loyalty you pledge to the higher ups of the hierarchy, the emblem that basically becomes your second skin and the salute that becomes a way of speech. A solider is there simply for the motive of one thing, and that one thing is humanities survival.

Some people just naturally flourish within the military life, others just can't seem to hack it. You don't really know where you stand on that spectrum though because on one hand you'd trained so hard and earned yourself such a great reputation and title that thankfully fell under the radar when you did but on the other hand, you can't ever seem to move past the squeamish feeling that seizes you whole every time you used to venture out past the walls and be greeted by the daunting, killer smiles of those man eating creatures. You had been surviving but not truly living when you first joined the Survey Corps all those years ago, and it took the complete annihilation of your squad for you to realise that. 

The expedition had been unforgiving, this was before Erwin had moved up in ranks and so he and you were Squad Leaders of your own teams. Foolishly, the commander had approved the expedition for that certain day despite the rain and it was all of your duty as soldier to do and die in the face of an order. The fog had been unbearable and an abnormal had been lying in waiting just in the distance of your squad which wasted no time in pouncing the minute the first horse came into view. You don't truly remember how you got away that day, but for the weeks following you selfishly wished you didn't. Wished you didn't have the life you got to keep when all of your friends and team comrades had lost theirs. The loss of your team was the very reason you chose to step down from your title as Squad Leader and then not long after that, you hung the uniform up all together with the encouragement from Erwin. Swearing off of it because you couldn't afford to get invested in another new set of fresh faced cadets only for them to be snatched away from you all too soon. 

Not too long later, you moved out from the district all together, following wherever your personal studies took you which saw you bouncing back and forth between the three walls of humanities safety.

Now though, you know your travelling days are over and in all honesty you're not that hung up over it like you thought you would be. It was rather pleasant to see your brother the other day after so long apart and despite being roped back into the very life you originally escaped from, you would fulfil the task assigned to you by the Commander as best as you could. If you were going to return, you were going to return as good as what you were when you first started out. Only this time, you were going to find a reason to live and not just survive.

Surely, it feels strange to be back in uniform though but at the same time it felt like it never truly went anywhere. The leather straps buckled around your thighs and chest feel a little too much like they're suffocating but it's a feeling your body knows it knows because it's nothing new, even your skin doesn't flare or chafe under the restraints. Already scarred and toughened from your early years with the squad. It feels like you're unworthy of wearing the familiar brown jacket with the emblem stitched upon it which you had abandoned all those years ago, but it welcomes you back with opening arms. The only thing different this time round in comparison to last time is that you're more aware of yourself, more mature, and so you're proud of the swap you chose to make from the old black hooded sweater you used to wear beneath the brown jacket to a white button up that you knot a tie around the collar off, the black standing out greatly against your otherwise all white and brown ensemble. 

It was new, but you were still you. 

Still, one thing you knew you were going to have to get used to was wandering the Scout Regiments barracks and reminding yourself that no one would be here who you would know. No one would still be around from your early military days because they were all dead. And it was the hard truth you had to swallow, but you did so with a strained smile. 

One thing you're glad for though is that it seems nothing has drastically changed, that's something you notice instantly upon advancing closer to the base whilst on horseback. The dusty path of the woods soon transitions into cobblestone path and the sound of your mounts hooves trotting against the ground is enough to snap you back to reality and tear yourself out of the past and all the memories this familiar building brings. Tightening the bridle strap around the back of your thumbs, you veer your horse to the left where you know the stables are. Your steed trots itself directly over to the water trough and slots himself effortlessly between another two of the standard Arabian military horses that the Survey Corps use. 

With a huff do you dismount your grumpy Mustang, his tail whipping to smack you directly in the face as you rounded him to remove his bridle and saddle. Heaving them over to an empty stall, you fling them over the wooden fence so they're balanced perfectly and also indicate to all passing soldiers that the stall was occupied already. Shuffling back over to the animal, you pitifully reward him with a good few pets to his neck whilst mumbling a grateful 'thank you' all the while promising to feed him a healthy sharing of carrots later on when you return to get him set up in his stall for the night.

Exiting the stables, you know all routes like the back of your hand but you don't exactly know where to go upon your arrival because Erwin wasn't stationed to get here until for another week and no way in hell were you reporting to Lance Corporal Levi. Just the mere thought of it made you shudder. So instead, you wander out back to where the training fields are and you're momentarily stunned to find them so packed. Had they already stationed the newly graduated cadets at their chosen positions? It seemed that way, as you spotted a speeding strip of scarlet and just a ways way from her was the titan shifter. Youngblood. 

Without thinking, you begin to walk straight through the field scattered with combat training soldiers so of course...it should be expected that you get dragged into something. Willingly or not.

A fist which is thrown out albeit too haphazardly goes flying straight into your jaw, making your teeth click together upon impact and a shudder to crawl it's way up your back. You close you eyes and its not quite obvious as to whether you do so out of annoyance or pain. Your eyes don't water. You don't whine or whimper. You just stand stock still where you are, and it seems the person who had punched you was attempting to be nice enough to apologise.

"I'm really sorry! I didn't see you there and-" 

You cut him off, working your jaw as you speak but not really offering him a glance just yet. "Listen kid, if you're gonna throw a punch you gotta make it count." You turn, and before the young soldier can even comprehend it, you've kicked both of his feet shoulder width apart and grabbed both of his hands. Slowly but tightly, you curl your hand around, pushing his fingers against his palms as you do so until you've formed his fists for him. Releasing him now, you circle him like a wolf staring down her next prey, barking orders that flow all too naturally which he follows diligently. He bends at his knees, brings his arms up in front of his face in a tight seal guard and finally hunches his shoulders over only the slightest, otherwise keeping them loose and relaxed. "Alright." You nod, satisfied. "Hit me."

The young soldier splutters, reluctant to do as you had ordered because he'd already had the misfortune of hitting you once. You bark for him to do as he is told and with scrunched eyes does he throw his fist forward, leaning all of his weight into that one hit and although it doesn't land as you catch it easily in the palm of your hand, you can tell the major improvement just from that one hit alone. You nod. 

"Good. That was much better." He smiles at your words. "What's your name soldier?" 

He fumbles over himself to supply you with his own name, but in the end he never even gets to it.

"Armin!" 

Both you and the blonde boy move your gazes to the source of the sound, and you realise that this 'Armin' boy must be the third addition to Jaeger's and Ackerman's group. The other two come racing over, Eren being the one to have called his friends name because they both noticed that they didn't recognise you. You belonged to none of the squads here at the base and you certainly weren't a Squad leader so who in the hell were you? It seemed even Armin noticed that your face wasn't recognisable as he stepped back to stand in ranks with his two friends. You frowned. 

"Who are you?" Mikasa asks, voice cold as ice as she sizes you up and down. The girl looked like she could pounce any minute, but a fight among wolves was not what you were looking for here.

You shift awkwardly in your boots, unsure as to how to broach the topic that you were essentially looking over Eren alongside the Lance Corporal now as of direct orders from Erwin himself. You figure starting off with your name would be the best place to start but you don't even have the time to do so, you open your mouth to speak but the voice that comes out isn't yours. 

"You've got to be shitting me."

You glance upwards and instantly your mouth goes dry. Great. The one man who you would have happily spent your entire lifetime avoiding just so happens to be marching towards you at an impeccably fast and alarming rate. The three younger soldiers salute him instantly and the action is in great contrast to the grimace of distaste you shoot his way. Already, you're taking hesitant steps back for every two great strides he makes, the sensation of pure spite running through your veins because his face was something you really did not want to see. 

"Run away from me and I swear to god I'll ruin you, you runt." 

His voice rings low in your ears, bouncing around inside your head and it seems your feet betray you at that moment as you come to stand completely still. Well fuck. He stops a mere few inches away from you, heels clicked together and his back straight all the while he looks you over and scrutinises. Your skin crawls beneath his stare, a tight feeling pulling at your stomach which you hadn't experienced in years suddenly making a comeback and it's all because of him. When is it not? He says nothing, just reaches forward and out of habitual instinct you latch onto his wrist and use it as leverage to flip him over. He wouldn't be the most skilled and experienced soldier though if that managed to work. No instead, Levi lands as if nothing had ever happened, poised on the tips of his toes and squatting down low as he fixes you with a seething stare. Ah. There was that look you loved so much. 

"What the fuck are you doing here? What happened to being retired?" 

"What's it to you? You aren't Erwin." Finding your voice pretty quickly, it's easy to snarl a response Levi's way because that's the only relationship you feel the two of you have ever shared. One of disgust and hatred. And yeah, like an idiot you forgot to refer to Erwin as 'Commander' in the presence of unknowing cadets but what did that matter? They would probably find out sooner or later anyway, much to your annoyance. "Intimidated I might come for your title mister 'humanities strongest'." There's a blatant sneer in your voice and you know your words are childish, but you're too reluctant to say that that's what Levi Ackerman reduces you to. A childish mess who forgets herself along the way. 

His expression goes blank and you suddenly release your grasp on his wrist almost like his touch had burned you. The Lance Corporal optimised on this startled moment and lunges forward, grasping onto your tie and using it to yank you down to your knees directly at his feet. Shocked, all you can do is stare down at the floor with wide eyes because how dare he! Your face heats and flushes with embarrassment as Levi yanks at your tie to raise your head and make you look directly at him. Other soldiers and the three stood close to you all stand stunned at the scene unfolding before them. 

The Lance Corporal leans his face down to speak closer to you. "Now...isn't this familiar. Me above you and you down at my feet where you rightfully belong." His face looks boringly blank, but you've known him long enough to detect the seething hatred seeping through his otherwise cold, unfazed voice. 

Him even saying something like that has you shaking purely out of fury and although most soldiers are used to watching Lance Corporal Levi put a fellow soldier in place, they aren't used to seeing one bite back so ferociously like you do now. With a chuckle, do you raise your hand and Levi thinks you're about to try and attempt to move his grasp from your tie but oh how wrong he is about to be. Your hand flies past his which is wrapped in the material of your tie and he doesn't even have time to think of what you're possibly about to do because you've already curled one finger under the knot of his cravat. You savagely yank on it and watch with sick satisfaction as he lurches forward, being able to hear the scatter of gasps from your unfortunate audience. 

"I'm not the same little girl who I was all those years ago Sir. So do not misunderstand. I'm not going to bend over backwards for you anymore. Things are going to be different now." Growling low in warning, you pull yourself from his hold and stand to dust off your uniform. 

As if nothing had happened, you turn to the three behind you and smile brightly. "Hello, I'm (Y/n), I've been assigned from the Commander on direct orders to supervise you Eren. So I hope all four of us can get along!" 

Levi 'tsks' at your sudden change in demeanour, turning around to see all eyes on you and feeling a muted sensation of rage bubbling low in his stomach.

"Get back to work!" He snaps.

And surely, everyone does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if there's any grammatical or spelling errors! 
> 
> But anyway, why does Reader-chan hate Levi so much, hm? What's their history I wonder. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. I Own You.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're the same soldier you were all those years ago, but you've not got that same title anymore. Levi relishes in reminding you of that. Direct orders from the Commander or not, the Lance Corporal is still your superior.

There's a certain misery that comes with the realisation of you begrudgingly noticing that your actions yesterday were way out of line and weren't something you were to do again. You made your point, had a tantrum, now it was time to prove that you were the capable solider you knew yourself to be. 

However, that is increasingly hard to do when all you want is to tear your hair out from its roots and scream as loud as you can. Sadly, you're not granted that amount of freedom anymore. You're a soldier of the military, so it's high time you start acting like one. Regardless of that fact though, you storm from your shared room before the sun can even begin to crown over the horizon and throw yourself willingly under the freezing cold spray of the shower head nozzle. The sudden onslaught of water sends a violent chatter through your teeth and a shudder raking up your spine. You press your hands to the adjacent wall beneath the pipe of the shower, being able to feel it crumble slightly beneath your hold as you curled your fingers in on themselves. How could you have been so immature? The Lance Corporal was sure to administer punishment now and frankly, punishment was something you detested with a passion. 

And so, it would be a day filled with carefully calculated steps and butterfly breaths because you were determined to ensure Levi would never once cross paths with you long enough to dish out any type of punishment. 

Your button up soaks see-through under the dripping mess of your hair, tie slung carelessly around your neck and drooping lazily down over your collarbones beneath the towel you use to ruffle your hair dry. Deft fingers clasp at the tiny buttons and hook them to a close, slowly inching further and further up to the collar all the while you stare emptily at the reflection which looks right back. You fill this role well you decide. You had enjoyed the travelling and studying, the freedom that came with it, but it was clear you just excelled more in a regimented life style, following a strict routine of living because atleast there was motivation with this structure. It gave you a purpose. 

The walk to the mess hall is of course a familiar one, and things are seriously no different as you seat yourself down at a specific table with a bowl of warm oatmeal in hand and with the other do you softly trace the engravings left indented into the wood. It brings about a nostalgic smile to your face, the other soldiers filing in forgotten as you read and re-read those words over and over whilst spooning mouthfuls of the served breakfast past your lips. 

'For A Better Life To Come' 

The scripture is written cleanly, and it's one you wish you could see written a fresh one last time but sadly the person who it belongs to is long since gone from this time of living. Taken too early and you were stubborn enough to continue thinking it was your fault. It was your fault your best friend died. It was your fault that titan snatched her up when it did. You had promised to always be there for each other but where were you when she died? Never knowing until drawing into the safety of the walls once more from your fifth expedition and noticing in horror as the cloth fell from one of the corpses bodies lay in the cargo truck and nearly screaming when seeing a pair of lifeless eyes staring back at you. Eyes that used to be full of so much mischief and love. 

The expression of horror was still etched into her face. 

You choke, dropping your spoon angrily into the now empty bowl and stand to drop off your dishes and quickly leave as soon as you had entered.

You're a fool to think you're that lucky though. 

Hange bounces your way with her goggles shifting slightly atop of her head, hair for once surprisingly tamed as she beamed your way. Hange Zöe was someone who you knew from your early military years, alongside Mike Zacharias did that complete all possible soldiers who were stationed at this base who you knew. She calls your name, ensuring there's no way for you to escape now and so you have to suck it up and flash her a pleasant smile. 

"A meeting was called this morning, apparently you've been assigned to supervise cadet training in Mike's place?" 

You pucker your lips in distaste.  
"What? Why? I'm just a normal soldier, I shouldn't be doing the superiors roles. Who said this?" 

Hange chuckles. "Levi was pretty adamant in seeing you do this." 

You kiss your teeth. Levi. Of course. The damn Lance Corporal had to get back at you in a way you both knew you couldn't escape. What an asshole. Hange regards you with twinkling eyes and places a sympathetic hand on your shoulder. 

"Don't worry though soldier! I'll be accompanying you at one point during the day today because Jaeger's got more training to do which I hear you've been ordered to also oversee?" 

You nod, because yeah that sounded about right. Those had been Erwin's orders after all so you couldn't complain at that. You thank Hange, telling her briefly that you look forward to seeing her soon then before ultimately managing to duck out from the mess hall and make your way out to the stables where you intend to treat your mustang with those carrots you had promised yesterday. The Mustang nickers at the sight of you, muzzle pushing happily against your face before looking happily upon the orange coloured goods in your hands. 

"I promised you didn't I boy?" 

He munches with content, the act almost therapeutic as you use your other free hand to softly pet his neck. 

"You know it would be almost laughable if the supervisor for today's training was to turn up late to her own session." 

The sound of his voice has your stomach flipping, a bitter taste exploding across your taste buds all the while you scrunched your face up in annoyance. Could you just not catch a break today?  
The Lance Corporal saunters lazily over to where you stand, disregarding you with bored eyes which you clenched your teeth at. Oh how he pissed you off. 

"It's not really my job to lead the training sessions, so I don't understand what the problem is...sir." The way you speak to him is curt and cleanly cut, voiced laced heavily with venom which has him smirking in delight because your hatred for him was practically fuel to his veins. 

"Is this you disobeying direct orders from a higher-up?" He arches a brow and it takes all of your willpower to not curse him out right then and there. 

"Of course not sir." 

He says nothing more, but his actions speak louder than his words when he kicks at your shin and wraps his ankle around your own, tugging to efficiently bring you down at his feet with a resounding 'thud'. Your insides boil, anger practically seething at the tips of your tongue which you know you have to hold. You can't disrespect a superior, no matter how much you wish to though and the both of you know that when he stares down at you in warning, basically daring you to try anything and he'll hand your arse to you then and there as punishment for acting out. 

"You're not the same person who you were all those years ago. Remember that. You don't hold no title to boast anymore, you're an ant under my boot that I can and will crush at any given moment." He has a finger beneath your chin, holding your face up so you have no choice but to stare him directly in the eye. "Do I make myself clear?" 

"Fuck you." It was childish. Obviously. Should you have said it? No. Of course not. Did you regret it? Yeah, a lot. But did it feel alleviating to do so? Heck yeah. 

Levi's lips curl, his eyes momentarily holding a glint of amusement before he's raising a foot and sending it callously into your face, watching as you fall back under the impact and cry out softly in pain. Your nose and right eye throbs, upmost effort being placed into making sure no blood stains your freshly washed button up as you snap back into a sitting position and can begin to feel your nose growing wet. For a brief second, Levi looks alarmed at the sight of blood and the quick swelling of your eye but the expression passes as soon as it came. 

"Don't be late Brat." Is all he barks out before finally leaving.

And you just sit there, leaning forward to bleed freely onto the stable floors as a way to avoid staining your uniform shirt. You cared very little for punctuality in that moment as your mind goes numb from pure embarrassment and anger.

How. Fucking. Dare. He?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short, college has been really kicking my ass as of late but I really wanted to get the next chapter out! 
> 
> Kudos are appreciated and comments are always welcome!


	4. Rumbling With Reiner.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out the cadets of the 104th squadron have passion, and you're itching to give them a run for their money and knock one of them down a peg or two.

It's Krista who ultimately ends up finding you, bent at the waist and seated shamefully on the stable floor as your nose persistently continued to bleed. The blonde had been nice enough to race over as soon as she spotted the pooling crimson, yanking a finely stitched cloth out from her uniform jacket and pressing it tightly against your face where she instructed you to pinch it as hard as you could at the bridge of your nose. The younger soldier knows better than to ask how you ended up in your current situation, but she can't help the intrigued look on her face as you knock your head back in hopes of speeding up the clotting process in your nose. The second it ceases bleeding, Krista is quick to help hoist you up and lead you out to the training fields, assuring you that you weren't that late in all honesty and that other Squad Leaders had shown up much more tardy than you on certain occasions. 

That sudden piece of information had made your throbbing nose scrunch because it made you realise that the Lance Corporal was a hypocritical piece of shit. 

You grant Krista with a genuine word of gratitude before watching her race of to a slightly taller and more tan girl who grips her in a headlock and grins widely. It seems all cadets had already gathered in waiting for their 'superior' to show and now that you were here...the session could begin. 

It's unnerving really, to have so many eyes on you all at once but you have to remind yourself that you've done all of this before and that it's nothing new. Scanning the lined soldiers up, it's an easy skill you possess in being able to tell who excels more in combat, who is exceptionally good with the ODM gear and who is just an ace of an all well rounder. Just from your quick once over, you pluck out at least a minimal of five who shine the most and you know to keep a close eye on them to see if there was any potential chance of you being able to push them any further in their drills. 

"Pair up!" You bark. "It's hand to hand, first person to get the other person down." 

Instantly, a flood of speech waves over the fields as you watch the many gathered soldiers begin to pair up as instructed. Of course, there are a few grumbles of complaints from those not inclined towards hand to hand but a drill is a drill and it must be completed. It's interesting really, to be able to note the different fighting styles that each soldier possess and if any overlap with any of their peers. Your eyes follow increasingly close over certain soldiers who stand out all too well.

Mikasa Ackerman.

Eren Jaeger.

Reiner Braun.

Jean Kirstein.

Ymir. 

Those were just a few of the soldiers who stuck out, although you could tell Ymir was hanging back for the sake of her partner Krista who clearly couldn't keep up all that well. Hand to hand wasn't her speciality.  
Your eyes narrow specifically on the blonde male who looks too confident in his own skin, too at ease with his moves as he spars with a taller male who you recognise to be Bertholdt Hoover. 

You scowl.

"Braun. Get into position. Front and centre." The sudden intrusion of your voice seems to knock a lot of cadets off balance but Reiner just smirks, releasing Bertholdt from his hold to swagger over to where you stand and positions his feet shoulder width apart. He raises his arms to guard his face and clenches his fist. 

"Looks like you've already been done in Sweetheart." He's commenting on your swollen eye and off centre nose that you're more than sure is broken but you refuse to rise to his taunting. "Sure you can handle me?"

You're moving before he can comprehend. Most Scouts surrounding the two of you stop to stand and watch in amazement as you so easily knock Reiner Braun on his ass. You feign of a punch to his left which makes him break his mid-section guard and you use this moment of weakness to slide between his parted legs. Dust kicks up from the abrupt movement of your body against the ground and it flies up into the blonde's wide eyes who remains shocked at the speed of your form. Allowing you to stand to his back is one of the most vulnerable positions he can be in though and he realises that as you swiftly jump to reach the height of his head and basically scale his form to sit upon his shoulders and wraps your legs around his neck, ankles crossed so there's no way he can break your hold. Reiner thinks he's smart in dropping to the ground and slamming his head down to effectively pin you down whilst you promptly cut off his airways, but all this new stance manages to do is allow you to reach for his leg that you snap forward up towards his head and threaten to break with every new ounce of pressure you apply. 

A hushed murmur of shock and awe can be heard travelling across the newly formed audience as the blonde in your choke hold splutters for breath, face turning red from exertion with a tinge of blue forming at the edges. You administer mercy and release him the minute he taps out against your thigh, heaving in a much needed gasp of air the minute you allow your thighs to go lax around his neck. He rolls out of your hold, meaning your able to stand and offer him a hand up which he takes with one hand whilst massaging his throat with the other. 

"First time you've been between the legs of a lady, Braun?" Your words are vulgar, but it evokes a chuckle from the heaving soldier. "Can't say your games all too good." 

"Maybe you just haven't truly seen what I've got yet." He openly flirts back, one eyebrow arched and you giggle before swiftly wrapping your ankle around the back of his and tugging, much like the Lance Corporal had done with you not even an hour ago.  
He stumbles, but doesn't fall, but that's all you need for his pride and ego to be wounded. 

"Sure thing soldier." You wink, and in defeat does he turn with his tail between his legs and races back over to his partner who pats him in a comforting manner on his back.

You turn to address the rest of the gathered Scouts.  
"There's always a trick to defeating a potential opponent, no matter how large or small they may be. No matter how powerful or fast." They all seem enraptured by your words, watching closely as you pace back and forth with your hands clasped tightly behind your back. "Your outcome always depends on how you play your moves and if you play them well. Can anyone tell me what Mr Braun's mistake was?" 

Nobody speaks but of course you already knew to expect their silence since your question was rhetorical.

"His mistake was that he underestimated me, and so he went into that fight assuming he didn't need to put in as much effort. He didn't need to be as alert. But that's the greatest mistake a soldier such as yourselves could ever make when facing a human opponent or even when out beyond the walls." Your next words ring aloud across the fields and for many, they strike deep. "Always assume your enemy is stronger than you. It motivates you to try harder." 

They glance to one another but say nothing, just allowing the silence of the wind to billow past as something heavy hung in the air. 

"Dismissed." You bark and all at once does the field begin to clear out. You catch sight of Hange hanging closer towards the base and before Eren can escape your grasps, you latch onto his wrist. "Not you Eren. Hange needs you for something."  
He nods, allowing you to pull him towards the Squad Leader who grins his way.

"Hey Eren!" She slaps a hearty hand onto his shoulder which makes him flinch slightly. "I hope you don't mind, but I've briefed in another session with Levi and his team. They're already at the stables preparing to head out to the clearing, are you okay with that?" 

Although looking slightly drained, the Jaeger boy nods his approval and Zöe cackles happily. 

"Excellent! This way then!" She begins to lead both you and Eren over towards the stables, her gaze lingering on your swollen face for a brief moment before she tears her eyes away once more.

Despite most people knowing of Eren's titan shifting powers, it was still a Scout rule that all of Hange's titan shifting experiments were to be conducted a good distance away from the Scouts base so that if anything were to indeed go wrong, the other soldiers wouldn't be put in immediate danger.

Stepping into the stables, your eyes naturally gravitate towards where you had earlier freely bled and sure enough the scarlet pool is still there. The others, like Hange had rightfully said, are already gathered. Levi's leaning up against one of the stall walls, arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed but you know he's listening in to all what's happening around him. They're all already suited up with their ODM gear properly applied and it doesn't take you and Hange long to do the same whilst Eren makes pleasantries with the Scouts of Levi's team. 

"Are the soldiers not doing so good at cleaning recently?" The Scout who asks that has a soft voice, leading you to link the question up with the only other female in the room besides you and Hange. Petra Ral squats down close towards the red stain against the stable floor, looking at it with mild worry in her eyes as she speaks. "Do you think a cadet was injured as of recently? I hope they're okay..."

Levi opens his eyes then and only then, spotting you instantly and replying to Petra all the while his gaze remains solidly on you.  
"Probably deserved it whoever they were." 

You grit your teeth, but say nothing. Brushing past the Lance Corporal, he's rather surprised at the lack of spitfire you possess as you instead opt to press a reassuring hand against the neck of your trusted steed, the Mustang more than likely having remembered the act of violence thrown your way earlier which had set him on edge. You tack him up as quick as you can, saddle thrown on without much struggle and the bridle buckled up just right before you slide open the lock of the gate and lead him out of his stall. 

You stick close to Eren as he guides his own horse, seemingly nervous and rightfully so. But it appears with you at his side he isn't all that anxious, allowing you to offer him that sense of comfort and reassurance that otherwise only his two other friends would be able to give him. You mount your Mustang the very moment it's ordered, wrapping the leather of the bridle around the back of your thumbs and finding no problem with the added extra weight of the ODM gear as your Mustang seemed just as relaxed as he always did. He's unimpressed with the slow trot you're travelling at though, snorting in annoyance but you know you can't afford to race off when you don't even know where the clearing is located. So your Mustang has to deal with following after Levi's and Hange's own horses as you and Eren make up the middle of the group and the rest of Squad Levi bring up the rear.

"(Y/n)...right?" Petra pulls her horse up besides your own, looking your way with a quizzical stare. "I haven't heard of you nor your name before, are you new to the Scouts?" 

For a minute you have to consider whether or not the female beside you is truly stupid or not. You spare her dumb question and answer anyway.

"No. I left for a short while before deciding to come back." Your answer is incredibly vague, but you refuse to give this girl your life sob story. You didn't know her, henceforth she wasn't entitled to know. 

"Oh? Can I ask why?" She tries her luck anyway.

"No." Your answer is blunt and leaves no room for argument, taking the Scout by surprise and making Hange order you to 'play nice' before the clearing finally came into view.

You all dismount at once, having no need to tie the horses up as they remained to the edges of the forest clearing, grazing happily amongst the grass. Slowly, you move to stand besides Hange, taking notice of the other scouts who scatter around but ultimately leave Eren in the middle. The nerves have started to return you realise, his face slightly more pale than what it was earlier and he's trembling just the slightest. 

"Okay Eren! If you could!" Hange encourages happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet as excitement grips at her veins.

Said boy raises a shaky hand to his lips, eyes flickering as he appears reluctant to bite into his own skin. You know the look of fear on his face all too well and call out softly to him.

"Don't worry Eren. We're here for you. Everything will be fine." 

His eyes find your own, and with a soft, reassuring smile sent his way, he finds the courage to bite down onto the flesh of his hand. 

A spark is triggered.

Steam floods the area.

You gape in astonishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooh! Ain't I just on a role?


	5. Scolding The Titan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren shifts and bad memories surface, he's got his eyes on you like a hawk but it's not you who he has to be weary of when it comes to lashing out.

His eyes follow your every move closely, picking up on the way you grip tighter onto the handles of your blades and the way your skin pales a considerable amount. Something akin to horror flashes across your face and the Lance Corporal is considering sparing you some mercy and ordering you away from this specific experiment when you abruptly steel yourself. He's stunned at how quickly you fold your fear over and promptly squash it, your teeth clenched together tightly and a heavy breath exhaling through your nose all the while you willed yourself to loosen your grip on your blades. 

That was Eren in there you had to convince yourself. He wouldn't hurt or kill any of you here if he could help it, he wasn't out to eat you. Regardless of that fact, you couldn't help the way dread seized your limbs and made you tremble, no matter how hard you tried to will the feeling away, you being scared was a dead give away and you could do nothing more than hope and pray that none of the other Scouts had picked up on your momentary weakness. With a heart beating erratically against the confines of your ribcage, you're nervous it will be loud enough that somebody will be able to hear it as Hange finally takes initiative and makes her first move towards the steaming, 15 metre titan who stands and makes no movement.

"Hey Eren! Are you all good?" She shouts, hands cupped around her mouth to magnify the sound of her voice in hope of reaching the mighty beast who ever so slowly begins to turn, eyes alight with something you can't exactly label as a low grumble rumbles throughout his system. "Eren?" He slams his hand down too quick to catch, but luckily Hange is quicker, managing to barely dodge the sudden attack sent her way with a shocked shriek. "Wooh! That was close!" 

Stunned, you turn to the Lance Corporal, awaiting his orders on the matter but it appears that even he is too preoccupied with taming the Scouts of his squad and keeping them at bay to protect Eren who still remains in the nape of that beast. With a roll of your eyes, you decide you're going to have to take matters into your own hands. With rusted skill, you latch the hooks of your vertical manoeuvre gear into each of the titans shoulders and on pure momentum alone, you swing forward, landing with grace only that of an experience soldier could harbour atop of the bridge of his nose. Eren freezes, unsure as to how to regard you before ultimately trying to bat you clean from his form. 

It doesn't work.

Instead, you jumped down onto his shoulder and he hits himself foolishly in the face, causing him to howl and stumble back upon impact. The second he drops his fist, you return to your earlier position atop of his nose, slamming the booted heel of your foot aggressively against his face to savagely yank his attention onto you. 

"Listen to me you fucking humanoid freak, we made a deal. Remember that? We don't hurt you and you don't hurt us." His attention is focused solely on you now, and little do you know Hange is writing down every piece of interaction you share with Eren's titan, absolutely amazed at the sheer normality of it all. "You remember me don't you Eren? I'm the one who kicked Reiner's ass this morning, yeah?" 

He howls a reply. You grin.

"Yes, that's right. Good. Now you little piece of shit, you nearly hurt Hange. So apologise," you narrow your eyes. "Nicely." You add as an afterthought.

He huffs, plucking you from the bridge of his nose and for a brief, unknown second your breath runs short, fearing that he would throw you down the hatch all in one go and that would be that.  
He doesn't.  
Instead, he holds out the palm of his hand and has you stand upon it like it were a platform, him moving slowly so as to not send you falling nor stumbling as he knelt down as low as this form would allow next to Hange who looked beyond delighted at the progress happening right before her eyes. He grumbles once more, and you're all smart enough to know that this is Eren's way of saying 'sorry'. 

Hange is beyond euphoric, squealing happily as she rushes forward to advance upon the sheepish titan meanwhile you're being lowered onto the ground by a steady hand which you pat to say your thanks to. Hange talks to Eren as if he were still human, rambling on with herself and wanting to find out certain things but it appears Eren can only do so much and there's one reason as to why. 

He's tired. 

"Oi, shitty glasses! Take a good look at him, he's done for the day." Levi's words seem final as he steps away from Gunther, daring Hange to argue against him but she merely pouts and shrugs before conceding to his words because he was right, she could tell Eren himself was growing tired and that was reflected in his titan form. The Lance Corporal himself scales the shifted titans form with little complaint and difficulty, his actions filled with ease as he so quickly reaches the nape where Eren puts up no fight. "Eren! I'm pulling you out." And that's the only warning he gets before Levi's striking his blades down and across, the cut clean and precise as the younger soldiers body is revealed and Levi can then easily tug him out of the flesh confines. 

Eren snaps away with a 'pop', eyes closed and body limp whilst Levi grapples for a good grip on his unconscious form and brings them both back down to the ground. You race over in an instant, kneeling over Eren who takes a good few to come to. The moment he does awake, there's an alert expression twisting his face and you're not exactly sure as to why. 

"Eren?" You call out softly, like trying to soothe a feral animal.

"Hange I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He's quick on his feet, bowing at his waist to truly convey the regrets of his actions that he didn't even have control over. 

"Huh, oh? Oh, it's fine Eren! You apologised already and I'm not hurt. Don't worry yourself about it." Hange, true to her word doesn't look the slightest bit bothered, if anything she's still as high as a kite due to what she'd just seen happen. Her notes are clutched firmly to her chest, even when she whistles her steed over and readies to part are they held closely to her form. 

"C'mon." You grab the youngest soldiers wrist and pull him over to where your Mustang and his own horse are grazing. "You did well today Eren." You make sure to praise him, because being in the military meant appraisal was something hard to come by and yet you knew some people happened to thrive off of it, and so you just wanted to be safe in letting Eren know that what he was doing was something good. And that his efforts were appreciated. You're not quite sure, but you're positive you spy something close to a blush dusting the titan shifters cheeks as you both mount your horses, and to add a cherry to the top, you grin his way, watching in amusement as he practically crumbles in on himself the very instant he flushes red. 

'How cute' you muse, the moment being broken when Levi's rough, unimpressed voice pierced the air. 

"Let's go." 

You had snapped your head around to look to him, and were confused to find him glaring your way. Had you done something wrong? A scowl was normal, that was practically Levi's every day expression, but a glare? Those were saved only for certain occasions but for the life of you, you couldn't recall doing anything wrong since arriving at the clearing that would warrant such a scratching look. 

Just what had the Lance Corporal so wound up?

You shrug, missing the way such a simple gesture has Humanities Strongest soldier gritting his teeth in annoyance and tugging a bit harder at the reigns of his horses bridle.  
Just like on your journey here, Eren travels beside you on the way back only this time he's more talkative, chatting about all of his friends and how there was a certain 'Kirstein' boy who he despised so much it was unbearable. You decide you especially like Eren, he's got heart and passion just like you assumed he had that day back in the courtroom. 

"Hey (Y/n)?" He snaps you clean from your thoughts, you hum in response. "Do you think you could teach me that move you pulled on Reiner today?" 

You smirk, deciding to play with him a little bit.  
"Oh~ Why? Did you think I looked exceptionally cool out there today? Ha! I surely proved that Braun boy, huh?" Eren pops red like a tomato once more and you cackle, deciding to spare the boy a little. "Relax Jaeger, I'm just playing with you! Yeah, I'll teach you, it's what I'm here for ain't it?" 

"But...I thought you were here to supervise me?" He asks dumbfounded. 

"Everything comes with its perks braveheart." You wink, steering your Mustang up the path of the Survey Corps' base quicker then expected. You both dismount when ordered to, leading your horses into their respective stalls where you then proceed to remove all equipment required for riding. A whispered thanks is pressed against the muzzle of your trusted horse and companion before you move to leave, patting a hearty hand on Eren's back as you go. "Go get some lunch in you kid before everybody else gets to it before you even have the chance. I'll see you later for the afternoon training session." 

He grins, nodding almost child-like before racing off.

You have every intention to follow after him and grab some food yourself from the mess hall, but Hange's voice stops you in your tracks as she drops a hand on your shoulder. 

"(Y/n) with me, I'm taking you to the medic ward to get that nose and eye looked at."

You freeze up, wanting nothing more than to sprint in the opposite direction because for one, you didn't even think Hange had picked up on your injuries to begin with, two, it wasn't something you wanted to make a big deal out of and three, you despised the medic ward with a loathing passion.  
It seems you have no choice though as Hange locks you in a steel hold, pulling you in the direction of the medic ward despite you digging the heels of your feet as hard as you could against the floor of the stables. 

You notice the red stain was finally removed from existence and it seemed Levi had realised too as you mistakenly cast a glance over you shoulder and locked eyes with his. 

For a fleeting moment, you were vaulted back to your earlier years but he slices through that nostalgia with a cold hard stare which makes you shudder.

Of course, you shouldn't try to reclaim back what was already lost so long ago. It was about time you came to grips with this new reality of yours. 

You weren't the same girl you were back then and neither was Levi the same soldier you came to know. 

Everything had changed, and the sooner you accepted that...the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rather like this chapter, I enjoyed writing it! >.<
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Sorry if there is any grammatical or spelling errors in this specific chapter, I finished this off roughly around 2 in the morning because I wanted to upload it as soon as!


	6. The Oaken Desk.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go snooping and regret it instantly once you stumble across what you do.

You follow Hange's pacing form with guarded eyes, watching as she reaches for a wad of cloth and a pail of water that she sets besides your seated body on the bed. You hated it here. In this room where so much pain and anguish was more than likely felt, it put you on edge, made you antsy. It wasn't a sensation you liked. Therefore, the quicker Hange patched you up, the better. The Squad Leader leans forward in front of you, eyes pinched in worry as she gently clasped the tip of your chin in between her fingers and softly turned your head to the side to get a better look. 

"Hm, Levi sure is rough isn't he?" Her words are so casual as she speaks, but you can't help the way your head reels back in shock and the way your eyes widen. She knew? The question of 'how' is inches from falling from your lips when the soldier before you chuckles, essentially silencing you as she answers your unvoiced question anyway. "I knew he'd do something like this, always the incompetent one when it comes to his feelings." 

"He's not impressed that I'm here." You surmise, voice squeaky and full of air as Hange pinches the end of your nose. She's callous enough to give you no warning before savagely snapping your nose back into its rightful position, passing the wad of cloth your way instantly which you use to press against your newly bleeding nose, once more. 

"You're right about that soldier. He's furious about that actually! Levi's scheduled a meeting with the Commander as soon as he arrives here in fact to try and convince him to station you elsewhere." Hange tilts your head back, lips pursed as she inspects the freshly blooming bruise to your right eye. There was nothing she could do to treat that, but it did surely look nasty and it felt it too as it throbbed every now and then with a new found purpose for vengeance. God, Levi sure did hurt. 

"Huh? Why? I'm as good of a Scout as anybody else here! Why is he so against me being here? I've every right to serve just as much as he does!" It's hard to gargle over the blood disgustingly sliding down the back of your throat, but you do so after many heavy inhales of breath through your mouth. Hange pulls back at that, scanning you over with heavy eyes before a sigh of resignation slips her lips. 

"That's not for me to say. If you want answers then you'll get them only from Levi himself." 

"I'd rather see myself die to the hands of a titan than crawl to him and try to figure out the puzzle which is Humanities Strongest Soldier." 

Hange throws her hands up in defeat, taking the bloodied cloth from your hand after seeing your nose had stopped bleeding now to submerge them in the pail of water, the both of you watching as the liquid became tainted pink as a result. You fold your arms stubbornly across your chest, a pout what a child would do twisting your features as the older female began to clean up the equipment used. 

"Don't you ever get tired of it?" You turn to look at Hange. "The arguments I mean? You both used to be so close and then all of a sudden it was like you two never truly knew each other." 

Hange was such an eccentric person that sometimes you forgot how smart and understanding she was. Perhaps the reason Hange acted the way she did was so people would underestimate her knowledge on the standard human being because of course, although she was intellectually inclined towards the field of the titan studies, that didn't mean she was ignorant to the basic functions of your every day person. In fact, if you were to say so yourself, Hange was one of the few soldiers who you knew who seemed to have a pretty good grasp on how other people worked. What made them tick and such. There was basic understanding, and then there was Hange's knowledge which exceeded far beyond anybody else's. She was just that impressive. 

Despite possessing all of this information though, it seems Hange can only look to you for the specific answer she seeks. Something tense hangs in the air and you could easily cut it with a blunt butter knife if you truly wished. 

"What sheds blood sheds spirit Hange." That's all you say to her with a dismissive shrug of your shoulders, standing to your feet with a slight shuffle and bowing low at your waist in thanks before dismissing yourself from the medic ward and leaving the Squad Leader to stand on her own back inside because finally, a lot more made sense to her as things began to slowly click into place.

Stupidly, you abandon the thought of trying to catch any last minute lunch and instead take to further exploring the Scout barracks. There's still tell tale signs of when you yourself roamed these halls as a fresh cadet and it sends a wave of nostalgia crashing over you. For one, there's the etching in that specific mess hall table, the notched wood in the door frame at the main entrance and the permanent scratching against the floor leading up to the females side of the building. What you're really keen to see though, was if 'that' was still there.  
You know you shouldn't, but your curiosity gets the better of you and you can't help yourself but to step with trepidation into the Commander's office. 

It's just so...Erwin you think fondly. More homely than his one back closer to the walls but also more scattered and messy, indicating he obviously spent a lot more of his time in this particular office when stationed out here. It smells of him you realise, that musky cologne of his sticking to nearly every piece of furniture you pass with light eyes. There's many different books aligning his walls and filling the shelves, sheets pool across the large, dominating desk and a pot of ink and a quill remains untouched, presumably awaiting his return just like the rest of you were. One of his jackets are strewn across the back of his couch and your heart jumps when finding it to be the one you had stitched for him whilst on your travels and had it sent to him. You had known better than to entertain the idea that he would have actually worn it, but the material's finely worked in and no longer stiff. That revelation alone made your heart soar with pride because he had actually worn it! 

You're nice enough to fold it into a neat, little square, placing it instead atop of one of the couch cushions as you make the decision to quickly straighten the space up. Call it a favour, call it you just being nice, but you knew Erwin would definitely appreciate coming back to a mildly structured and clean office. Piling up sheets and shifting clothing into their respective areas, you peep through the back door which leads to his bedroom and roll your eyes when seeing the unmade bed. 'Military material my ass' internally scoffing, you hum in approval at the tidied up space before remembering your reasoning for sneaking in here in the first place. 

Nervously, you round the desk and bend down to squint your attention specifically onto the right back wooden leg. The staining of the wood is fading, that much would be expected, but what you're delighted to find is that it's still there. The carving you and Erwin had scratched there late one night hours after curfew when you had both been so new to the training squad. The Commander at the time had been ordered away for the week and the Survey Corps were lacking the numbers to station a soldier at each important room. 

There had been no problems faced when it came to you two sneaking in undetected and you had both gotten away with it in the morning too. 

You could recall Erwin being so bright eyed and optimistic because he was good at what he did, he had aspirations, a clear motive. Your brother wanted to climb the ranks and he vowed to do so. You, being the younger, starry eyed sister had willingly pledged your loyalty to following him through and supporting everything he did. And that vow and pledge were solidified into the wood of the Commander's desk that Erwin promised would be his some day. And he had not been lying. 

It's a simple carving, but your brother's scripture is clean and precise. 

'Smith'

That's all it reads, but that single word connected to two of the most influential soldiers at the time and although you had dropped off clean from the grid, Erwin had kept going strong and for that? You had to admire him.  
With a distant mind, you graze the pads of your fingers across the indentation, smiling stupidly because for a brief moment, you were back there. 

Unassuming yet happy.

Abruptly, a hand drops atop of your head and you stiffen because oh shit, you're not supposed to be there. Stiffly, you twist and turn to stare up at the soldier who towers over you.

It's the Bloodhound. 

You had expected him to be mad at the fact you had broken into the Commander's office, but Mike just stares down at you and offers you a hand up that you take albeit reluctantly. He stands nearly a good foot above you, towering over you but appearing to be nothing more than a friendly giant as he leans down to sniff at your neck just the once before smirking and ruffling the locks of your hair. 

"Hange told me you were stepping in to supervise my training sessions but here you are being late for the afternoon class?" Ah shit, you still had an afternoon class to teach! You had completely forgotten!

"Wait, you're not mad?" Your voice trembles only a little but you take extra care to make sure it doesn't do it again. 

"Mad? That I caught you snooping in the Commander's office? No. Why? Should I be?" He raises a brow, removing his hand from atop of your head to hold it on his hip instead.

"I-I don't know? Yes?" You're unsure of yourself. 

"You're just looking for something to ground yourself to after returning back to the one thing you never wanted to face again. Am I right?" You tense at his words, eyes downcast to your feet. "It's okay to struggle kid. Don't bottle it up." 

You try. You really do. But Mike is patient and says nothing more. Doesn't push you to say anything, doesn't rush you along. Doesn't even comment when he hears you sniffle. He just stands with you as you try for the first time since arriving here not to cry.

Oh gosh. Did it hurt.

You hated it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised! I hope this chapter was good and I'm sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors once more! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	7. On The Edge Of The Unknown.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You come too close to something you never truly want to face again.

It's a new day, and that means new possibilities and challenges are all going to be thrown your way in one fast pitched throw. You're ready to tackle them all head on though, facing them with a newly energised outlook that came afresh after a good emotional release. You were only human after all. This outlook however is presumably what causes you to awake hours before the crowning of dawn, surprisingly well rested and feeling ready to take on the day as the last thing you do before leaving your shared room with another few fellow female soldiers is snatch up the neatly stitched handkerchief that otherwise rested on your bedside. There's a tiny 'MZ' woven into the soft material and it makes you wonder who the craftsmanship belongs to because no way in hell could you have pictured that Bloodhound sitting down after a hard day to sew. A handkerchief at that no less! 

Despite waking so early, you race feverishly down the corridors of the Scouts barracks, eager to see for yourself the sunrise that would begin to peep through the scattered clouds soon. There are a collective of soldiers who pass you by, yawning their tired 'good mornings' which you shouted back in a flurry all the while the soles of you boots pounded rhythmically against the base flooring. You emerge from the building with a heave of fresh air, grinning because you felt good about today, there was something in your veins that just told you all would be fine on this specific day. You have no time to waste though, rushing forward on the dusted path in the direction of the stables where your trusted Mustang greets you with a snort. Your grin stretches.

"No time to tack you up today boy! Let's go!" 

You slide open the bolt on his stall gate, swinging it open with a deafening screech that neither you nor your steed pay any heed to. He follows you out obediently, taking the same path you took to get here the day you arrived which all in all would lead you back to the wall. You leave him there waiting patiently just on the outskirts of the base and race back to the stables to attach your ODM gear at your sides. It shifts and clunks as you walk, but otherwise offers no real issue. You're quick to find your way back out to your horse, getting a boost up from a nearby fence and swinging your entire body onto his back. He doesn't move, doesn't falter backwards, he instead, remains completely still as you grasp the ropes of something so familiar to you once more. 

It had surely been a while since you went bareback riding, but it was an act that surely brought you and your Mustang closer together. It meant you could not only feel every shift of his body, but he could also feel every shift and tense of yours because no saddle was between you to muffle the movement. You know to tense only the top of your thighs, pelvis pushed forward and hands wrapped securely into the silken locks of his mane as you had little time to buckle up a bridle. You click your tongue against the roof of your mouth, and with a heavy exhale from the animal beneath you, he moves forward. A walk transitions into a trot and a trot transitions into a canter before your urging your horse into a speeded gallop. 

The sound of his hooves hitting the grass, the heavy exhale of breath, the heat radiating clearly off of his form. They were all things that you loved as the passing wind bit teasingly into your exposed skin and whistled loudly in your ears. It was so exhilarating, to pry back this simple form of freedom that you never truly wanted this moment to end. For a passing second it appeared all was right with the world, that nothing was truly ever wrong to begin with. There's blood coursing hotly through your veins, infused heavily with adrenaline that spikes a laughter of thrill loudly from your lips. Without a care in the world, you release your hands from their grasp around your mount's mane and throw them high into the air, being able to feel the passing gusts that tickle the pads of your fingertips. 

Oh how cruel it was. To have a world filled with so much beauty tarnished by the never ending carnage.

All too soon, your slowed from a gallop to a trot, your horse moving a few more feet before stopping to graze by the bottom of the wall. You dismount, trusting he will remain where you leave him as you momentarily stare emptily up at the one thing which offered mankind even the slightest shred of protection. The Mustang nickers, more to himself than you, but it's that sound which drags you out of your own head. You inhale with a slight rise of your shoulders, leaning back only in the slightest as you shot the hooks of your gear forward and watched as they inserted themselves solidly into that of the wall. You're yanked forward on bodily momentum alone, refusing to use the gas where you could and it seemed you didn't need to use that much of it as you scaled the wall in a quick motion. Your gear thunks against the top of the wall as you discard it, needing it not until you decided to descend once more but for now? You would sit, wait and watch. 

You know it's a dangerous game, to sit at the edge of the wall and dangle your legs over the side of it into what could only be described as a 'titan infested' area, but you deemed yourself aware enough to be safe. Besides, you were certain no titan out there other than the colossal titan could reach this height. That's what made the walls so formidable. And so, you're at ease with yourself in this specific moment as you lean back with your palms planted against the top of the wall, gazing out at the slowly rising sun which tentatively began to kiss the sky and from it erupted a slew of soft shades and colours. 

Softly pursing your lips together, a whistling tone bursts free and fades off into the serene atmosphere, no cares for the three titans who stare up at you with bleak, starving eyes who scratch and reach helplessly for your high up form. It's almost laughable, how all the way down there they're so useless. Even when you stand to your feet with the tips of your boots hanging over the edge, you smirk, because for once it made you feel like you were the most powerful one of the two. A human ruled over the titans and not the way other way around. A hunter. Not the hunted. 

The feeling dies out all too soon though. 

Something knocks against the wall, you're positive, but you being quick to check on it just may well be a bad thing. 

You're losing your footing all too soon, horror pinching your expression and seizing your very heart which vaulted against your chest in fear. You weight falls backwards and helplessly you throw your arms forward, praying that somebody or something will be there to save you from the most horrid death approaching. Your eyes are strewn shut and for a second you're sure you think you're falling. 

Falling.

To your death? Yeah, that much was imminent. You'd be eaten alive due to your own carelessness. But in all honesty, you didn't see yourself going out in any other way. Fitting really, for a Scout such as yourself. Had fate planned it so to be this way? Was this her cruel way at getting back at you for evading Death's grips all those times before? Were you merely existing on borrowed time that was now revoked?

Your other foot follows your first, and for a scary second it's like you're suspended in the air. Not falling but not really floating either. Your heart stops in that moment, you're sure of it, the feeling so unreal you know you won't ever feel anything like it again because this time round, you know you can't afford to be confident in the face of Death like all those times before where you were able to swallow down the feelings of fear. You don't have your gear to ground yourself, your fellow soldiers and comrades to help save you, your horse at your beck and call to whisk you up and away. 

You're vulnerable.

You're scared.

Your arms fall back limp at your sides, hands clenching inexplicably tight against the leather straps buckled around your thighs because you can't do anything. Nothing. All that training, all those solo kills and assists you have to your name, the very emblem on your back mean...nothing. All because you chose to be a fool on this one occasion. 

You don't know why, but you cry as you choke over his name, the letters heavy on your tongue which almost becomes tied in your trembling moment of weakness. It falls like a desperate plea into the open air, shuddering off into the silence which you face in your final moments. 

Or so that's what you thought. 

A calloused hand squeezes it's way beneath your constricting grip on your uniform straps and folds its fingers around your own. You feel it flex and are not really aware of what happens next because you only open your eyes when your breath is snatched savagely from your lungs and your form is stumbling into something else. What fills your vision isn't mindless, human eating titans but instead grey eyes that taper off into blue that usually look stone cold but are right now so afraid. So angry. And so scared. 

Levi doesn't really know what to say. He just stares at you hanging limp in his arms like a rag doll, his vertical manoeuvre gear having saved you as he hangs from it on the other side of the wall, only a few feet away from where the tallest titan of the groups hand grazes. Similarly, you're just as lost for words, only knowing that you were surely glad in this instance to see his face. 

With an iron grip, the Lance Corporal pulls your limp body as close as he could to his own, holding you down tightly as he, with a slight struggle, managed to get you both up the wall. Scaling the few metres you had dropped in a hurry. 

It's a different kind of relief the second your feet hit solid ground, the mere thought of safety making your entire body collapse beneath you with a shuddering gasp. You were safe. Levi had saved you and- oh, he looked mad. 

"What the fuck do you think you were doing?" His voice rasps low in his throat, gravelly and rough as he glares down at your sunken form. Scratch that, he was furious. 

"..." How do you explain yourself to him in this moment? "I-I woke up early and I really wanted to see the sunrise but-"

"Are you being serious right now? You nearly threw your entire life away because you wanted to see some shitty sunrise?" 

You scowl. "I didn't do it intentionally! I knew I was safe up here, I just heard something and I..." What had you heard? A bird? Maybe. 

Levi surges towards you, dropping to his knees in front of you to grab at the lapels of your tan jacket and use them to pull you forward. Nose to nose, he seethes as he speaks. 

"You took your ODM gear off and look what happened. You nearly became titan food because of a fucking slip up. Literally. How much of an idiot can you be?!" 

"I didn't mean it!" You shout back, gradually becoming more angry because he wasn't truly listening to you. "Why do you care anyway? You don't even like me so why bother saving me, huh?" 

He snaps back then, and you briefly think he's going to hit you again for insubordination but Levi Ackerman does nothing of the sort. Instead, he gently releases the lapels of your jacket and stands back to his feet, staring at you with an expression you've never truly seen before which therefore knocks you for spins. He turns, readying to leave which also means you too must be departing now. 

"Let's go. Erwin's arrived early and I'm sure he'll want to see you." 

Your heart should soar at the news and excitement should grip you whole, but instead you just stared forlornly at the back of the Lance Corporal. He moves to take a step forward but promptly jerks to a freeze when he feels something tug. He glances over his shoulder, a look of surprise consuming his face as he notices your hand grabbing onto the ends of his uniform cloak, the material creasing around your firm fist. You don't notice his expression, you've got your head bowed low in humiliation. Levi once more doesn't know what to say, he just tenses under the heavy atmosphere all the while glancing upon your broken frame.

"Thank you, Levi...for saving me." 

Your words are pitched and crack unevenly but Levi doesn't care about that. It had been so long, but you had said his name. 

His name always sounded best when it fell from your lips and only yours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Dianasaurus94 who is always commenting such motivating and sweet things! <3


	8. You.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You overhear something you're not supposed to.

It's by complete accident that you hear what you hear really. You weren't even supposed to be there in all actuality but it had been so easy to slip from Levi's gaze the moment you arrived back at the Survey Corps base that hopping back onto your Mustang and racing away once more seemed all too appealing. There's a village, a mere horseback ride away, which although albeit small and lacking, is full of welcoming civilians who clearly have too much love to give. They're used to soldiers such as yourself visiting, so much so that they take in your Mustang the second you dismount him free of charge and promise to look after him all the while you promptly enjoy your stay. 

There's a market which runs through the centre of the village, little stalls set up and seemingly doing very well as people gather around and thrust weighted coins into the merchants hands, demanding all they've got because the products being sold appear too good to be true. You have no intentions to buy, you're merely here for a change of scenery but you end up leaving with something you didn't necessarily think you would come across. 

There's two men perched against the wall of a drinking tavern, dressed far too differently for you to view them as people who reside within the village itself as they're decked out in splashes of gold here and there. They were rich is what you first assumed, but then getting closer you caught the branding against their biceps and instantly thought against it. Not rich, but thieves you thought to yourself. 

You push your way through the rest of the crowd, being careful to hide yourself as much as possible as your uinform was a dead give away. Cautiously, you lean against a nearby alleyway wall, barely being able to strain your ears to pick up the muffled words of their whispered conversation. 

"Are you sure this will work? We're talking about the Survey Corps here you know?" 

"It has to. I've got too much money riding on this for it to be a failed plan. I promised our client he'd receive his shipment tonight." 

"And they don't suspect a thing?" 

"They're freshly graduated recruits, only seen a couple titans once. We'll be fine." 

You find yourself hard of breath, heart beating erratically because if you tallied their words up right, they were planning to target the 104th soldiers. But what exactly were they after? What had this client ordered? And just who in the world were they? 

Either way, you don't have time to find out because a treacherous cat hisses at your unfamiliar presence and the sound alone garners their attention, causing the two men to shift and peer down at you. Their brows are furrowed in confusion for the shortest of seconds before they're raking their gaze downwards and spotting the winged emblem on your uniform jacket. You're not quite sure if it's you or them who tenses first but what you do know is that they speak first and it's easy to tell that they're beyond angry. 

"It's not nice to snoop little missy. Did your Father never tell you that?" 

You smile sweetly. 

"No, but my Father did always tell me to hit 'em where the sun don't shine." 

The larger one of the two frowns, clearly not understanding what you were possibly getting at until your flinging your booted foot upwards and slamming it ruthlessly in between his legs, not sticking around to watch him crumble as you instead opted to dash in the opposite direction. His friend calls after you, demanding for you to stay but you do nothing of the sort. Instead, all that people seem to catch of you is the blurred image of your fluttering uniform jacket, boots skidding against the path and kicking up a cloud of dust around your ankles as you roughly race to a halt. Your Mustang grazing within a fenced paddock perks up at the sight of you, watching you swing yourself effortlessly over the wooden fence and right onto his awaiting back. The elderly couple overlooking the other horses gape in amazement, not even knowing what to say as you push your horse to jump effortlessly over the fence and shout a distant 'thank you' for their extended friendly gesture. 

Briefly, you catch a shot of the sweaty, heaving friend who had been persistent enough to give chase but he knows he doesn't stand a chance when your horse with you upon his back go galloping past, the steady pounding of hooves a mere threat of warning to the man as you headed back to the base because...you knew. You knew of their plans, had caught every word uttered and indeed did you have every intention of stopping them and saving the 104th from whatever was going to happen today. The path leading back to the barracks appears to be a short one and with careless action do you jump down from your horse, leaving him upon open fields because you just knew within yourself that you would be requiring his assistance all too soon for you to have time to settle him into the stables.

Your ODM gear shifts and rattles at your sides as you race through the large building, alarmed at the lack of soldiers you found which managed to make your heart spike even more. Forgetting yourself for a moment, you barge without care into the Commander's office, only being slightly surprised at the audience Erwin had there gathered with him.  
Your brother is seated calmly behind his desk which Levi is perched against the side of, Hange is sat upon the Commander's sofa and Mike is lazily leaning against the wall close to the window. 

You address none of them. Don't even announce your presence. Don't even salute the Commander. You just stand, with a heaving chest, ruffled hair and a red face before the words fall as if they were dead weights from your lips. 

"The 104th soldiers. Where are they?" 

Erwin blinks. Confused. Opens his mouth to question what's wrong but is quickly silenced by your words once again. 

"Did you send them on that peacetime trial?" 

Erwin's confused. You've got a wondrous black eyes, you're anything but presentable and it seemed you'd forgotten the basic etiquette of a soldier. Brother or not, respect in this line of work was a must. 

"He did. The two teams set off about an hour ago. Why? What's wrong?" Hange finally gives you an answer worth while. 

"I need to know the routes they took and where they are headed." You're not asking, you're demanding.

"This isn't your trial soldier. You're in no position to order such things." 

"Cut the bullshit Erwin. Your soldiers could be at risk of trouble." 

Your words seem to snap them to attention finally at that. Levi narrows his eyes sceptically. 

"Don't fuck around with lies soldier." 

"I'm not," you say, growing more and more agitated the longer time seemed to pass. "I rode into the village close to the barracks earlier. There was two men, they had the thieves mark branded upon them and they were talking about a client and how they had a lot of money riding on this one plan involving the newly graduated cadets." 

"That's bullshit. There's no way-" Levi's words are cut off by Mike.

"The ODM gear." 

"It's been priced rather high recently if sold to the right buyer." Hange adds. 

"How would they know of the trial being held today though?" Levi questions, arms crossed over his chest as he glares into the open air.

Silence hangs over the gathered soldiers until something finally clicks within your head.

"A mole. There's got to be a mole within the newly joined soldiers who is selling interior information to those who want it." 

"What sort of idiot would be dumb enough to do that?" Levi does not appear impressed, if anything he looks beyond pissed. The trial today was supposed to be an easy one to make sure the soldiers could operate just as well in peacetime alongside periods of conflict. 

"We don't have time to consider pointing fingers on who it could be. For now we have to get this situation under control. No one else can know of what's going on until the situation is sorted, we don't know who the mole could be so what is said in this room stays in this room. Am I understood?" Erwin takes a sudden grasp of the entire problem, managing it so easily which leaves you stunned because you had forgotten just how much of leader material your brother was. 

"Yes sir!"

"I'm splitting you up. Hange and Mike I need you to follow Ackerman's group. Levi and (Y/n), you'll both be following Arlert's group. We need to make sure we get to them before those thieves do. If at any point you cross paths with them do not hesitate to intercept and take them out, do I make myself clear?" 

"Yessir!" 

"Good." Erwin nods the once. "Dismissed."

You're quick on Levi's heel as he is the first person to duck out of the Commander's office and stalk down the corridors towards the stables where he alongside Mike and Hange are frantic to gear up. In that time, you've whistled your Mustang over, feet slung over so your sat comfortably upon his bare back which had you still neglected to saddle up. How could you when you didn't have the time? Hange pulls her own horse up beside your own, Mike on your other side and Levi in front. Understanding nods are passed around before the two teams of two split and gallop off in opposing directions. 

You have no clue where you're headed, but on this one occasion...you suppose you can trust the Lance Corporal. It's strange, to watch him from the back, to notice the way no matter what he does, he always looks so calm and collected. What stuns you the most though is that Levi is the one to break your shared silence. 

"When you left," he seems unsure of himself for a shaky second. "What is it that made you do it? What were you so scared of?" 

You're tongue tied. Forgetting to breathe, never mind talk as Levi spares you the briefest glance over his shoulder. What exactly were you so scared of? You told Erwin you had been scared of becoming attached to another potential Squad, but was that really the case? You were a Smith, at times you were capable of adopting the same steeled outlook which your brother had, so why hadn't you done that in the face of your previous squads eradication? What had made you use such a horrific event as an excuse? Your answer took the form of Humanities strongest soldier. 

Your words are uneven as you speak and so low that for a moment Levi didn't think he had heard you right. 

"You." Is what you finally reply. "I was scared of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This upload is long since overdue, I'm sorry for the wait!  
Regardless, I hope you enjoyed~  
As usual, I'm sorry for any grammatical or spelling errors!


	9. Stallion In The Woods.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Levi prove yourselves to be a formidable pair, just like the old times.

Only when night falls does something remotely interesting seem to happen. The path you and Levi travel across is a big one but finally it appears that the long haul has been worth it when the Lance Corporal faintly catches the sound of something being clicked. A trigger perhaps? You tense upon your Mustang, sticking close to Levi who regards you with a gaze which orders you to be cautious. Your horses walk slowly, tentatively, almost as if they too could sense somebody who wasn't supposed to be there. The waning Moon peers slyly through the covering clouds like it was amused by the events happening tonight beneath its watchful gaze. 

"Look,' you motion towards the smoking remains of wood, still partially hot. "Do you think our soldiers set up camp here?" 

"It's likely." Levi nods. "But if that's the case, we can assume the thieves beat us to them." He glances about, clearly looking for some tell tale sign which comes in the form of hoof indentations pressed into the ground. "There's our answer. They must have a carriage with them, which also means they succeeded in seizing the gear if our soldiers were ambushed." 

You frown, not liking the conclusion Levi had come to but knowing that he was for sure correct. All his points added up. 

"The tracks are clear, if we hurry now then we might catch up with them." 

You're about to nod when something catches your eye by the trunk of a nearby tree. It's a pretty pastel colour and extremely soft, familiar in your hold as you jumped down from your horse to snatch it up. Looking upon it, this one item twists your entire perspective on the scene as footsteps muddle into one. Krista's handkerchief hangs limp in your hold.

"Hold up, there are signs of struggle and distress here. Look," you pass the soft piece of cloth over to the Lance Corporal before mounting your steed once more. "That's Krista's, there's no way she would have dropped this without realising unless she was taken from here against her will." 

"Are you suggesting that whoever these guys are, they've taken Krista as hostage?" 

You nod. "How else would a bunch of measly thieves stand up against a group of fully trained soldier? They saw Krista as an opening for leverage and took it."

"Fucking cowards." Is all that Levi hisses, handing Krista's handkerchief back over to you which you carefully fold and place into the breast pocket of your tan jacket where you know it will be safe. Diligently, you race after Levi who follows the tracks in the path, the two of you now frantically trying to reach the cowardly bandits in time before any further damage was made. "Stay close." He orders, looking to you but still being able to hear your words from earlier replaying in his head which just wouldn't seem to leave him alone. Him. You had been scared of him. How had he never known of this until now? And why? Your words had left him with more questions than what he had begun with, but now was not the time to be asking them. There were more important matters to be tending to.

"Levi." His name on your lips has him snapping his head around in an instant. "Over there." You point to the path up ahead, being able to notice the shaded figures of shifting frames who all appear slightly familiar. There's five of them. It's Braveheart who stumbles into view first. He's bruising along the side of his jaw and he looks beyond pissed but other than that he appears fine as he exclaims both yours and Levi' name loudly. 

You dismount once more, passing Eren and reaching for Jean whose cheek has been sliced and is still bleeding with blooming beads of blood. You frown, reaching in your pocket for your own handkerchief which you press against the younger soldiers skin with a cupped palm. He jolts at the sudden action, skin bursting to life with heat because there was a pretty soldier holding him so tenderly right now and how often did that happen, huh? 

"What happened?" Is all you can question, eyes laden with sympathy as you pressed your thumb specifically against the material of the handkerchief, hoping you could clot the wound and therefore stop the bleeding until Jean could get properly patched up back at the Scout Regiments base. 

"We were ambushed." Armin answers for him. "They took our gear and they have Krista. They said that if we tried to go after them, they'd kill her." 

Levi rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue in distaste against the roof of his mouth, likewise, you scoff in annoyance. 

"What are we going to do? We can't risk Krista being hurt!" Sasha pulls at her hair in annoyance, darting her eyes from face to face before ultimately deciding to rest her stare on you. 

"They have guns?" Levi dismissively questions. Connie nods.

You purse your lips together, beginning to think now whilst staring emptily over Jean's shoulder. You're formulating some kind of plan, assuming that you and Levi had managed to successfully catch up with one of the two groups quicker than what Hange and Mike had done. You were safe in assuming that the thieves couldn't have been too far away from here, after all, they would have had to have taken the correct procedures of storing the ODM gear as well as tying up Krista otherwise she would have easily been able to get away. You turn to Sasha.

"Go to high ground. A tree or a mountain, just something high up. Figure out the direction of the carriages, me and the Lance Corporal are going to continue following the tracks. Once you've located them, I'll need you all to figure out which carriage will have the gear stored in because the chances of them having more than one carriage is high." 

"What do we do then? We don't have our gear with us..." Connie huffs in frustration.

"You're still a soldier with or without the gear. You find them and you intercept them, do you hear me?"  
All five nod. You grin, finally removing your bloodied handkerchief from Jean to find the wound had finally stopped bleeding. Whistling, your Mustang trots over to you obediently. You look towards Armin.  
"Take him, he's a bit stubborn but he'll listen to you. He's a good climber, use him to get up the mountains faster." You look towards Levi and notice that he too had handed his mount over to Connie who looked beyond amazed. "Split yourselves accordingly. Springer, Arlert, you're in mountain tops. Brauss, Kirstein, Jaeger, tree tops. Here." You pass a flare from the saddle bag of Levi's horse to a member of each team. "The minute you spot them, send out a flare in the direction of where they're going."

"But what about you and Lance Corporal?" 

Levi just shifts, and finally their attention is brought onto the vertical maneuver gear buckled to each of your waists. Levi arches a mere brow and you smirk. 

"Don't worry about us brats, just hop to it." 

You discreetly smile at Levi's words, turning your head to hide the tugging of your lips which didn't quite go unnoticed by the Lance Corporal who was mildly amused at the expression but chooses not to say anything. This brought back fond memories of when you and Levi were fully capable of working together. 

"Let's go!" 

The group disperses just like that, the sound of the horses hooves hammering against the path growing more and more distant all the while Sasha raced off into the nearby woods as if it were her second home with Jean and Eren close on her heel, intent on finding the tallest tree what they could which all three of them would hopefully be able to scale. Likewise, you and Levi go shooting across the scene, the feeling all too familiar as nostalgia struck you hard and shook your very core. It was daunting but also very reassuring to have him by your side, the cat-like arch of his back which bent as he swung through the air always something what had enticed you as the image seemed all that entrancing. 

Like a bottle cap being released under pressure you spin quickly through the open air, the sound of wires whizzing and Levi's baited breath being the only sounds to meet your ears which muddle together under the intense tension of the entire situation. The scene passes you by too quick to notice, but before you know it there's a green flare being released from the direction of the mountain tops, shooting North which had you and the Lance Corporal sharing a brief glance before the two of you immediately changed course and sped on. 

You conveniently rendezvous with the others, watching the carriage speed towards your shaded figures which they had yet to notice. With no warning for the poor blonde, you slap your palm against the side of your Mustang and watch as he lets out a loud whinny that finally gathers the attention of the incoming thieves who pull to an abrupt stop.

"What the fucks going on!?" 

Jean and Eren lunge forward too quick to account for, with Connie and Sasha close by. Their aims are to take down the opposing threats first and then claim back the stolen gear which was rightfully theirs to begin with. 

"Arlert! Go and get Lenz." Levi orders, noticing you watch a man slip from the chaos and attempt to run. You rear your head back, every intention to chase after him when Levi grasps solidly at your wrists and stops your every move. You freeze. Breath hitching within your throat as you dared not to look towards your superior. "Don't bother." Is all he husks, daring you to disobey but on this one occasion alone, you chose not to. Instead, you go limp in his hold, flaming with heat where his skin touched your own as the both of you watched two new forms drop in and swing their blades out scarily close to the man's throat. He chokes in surprise and panic. 

"Don't bother." Mike's voice rumbles. "Scum like you never stood a chance."

"Yoohoo! That was cool huh? The whole gang's here now!" Hange's goggles cast a sinister gleam across her face under the pale moonlight, but you just think it makes her look that much more powerful and intimidating.

"Wait!" Krista calls out in a hurry. "Don't kill him!"

Mike snaps back at the sound of the blonde's urgent voice, his blade faltering which gives the thief enough time to twist around and snatch up your other free wrist. With Levi's grip having slackened, the thief being able to pull you towards his chest seemed all too easy as the positions were swapped and suddenly there was a dagger held dangerously close to your throat. All eyes were on you now, body trembling slightly as the man gripped you tightly, hissing over your shoulder to speak with the three superiors gathered who stood on their toes, highly alert. 

"Here's how it's going to go. Drop the gear and your little soldier here doesn't get hurt." 

Levi just scoffs, turning away from you to gather up his steed who snorted in greeting.

"Lance Corporal! What are you doing?" Sasha called in shock as he swung himself up and over his horse to seat himself properly on his mounts back. "(Y/n) is-"

"Fine." He cuts the younger scout off. "She's fine. Just look." He cocks his head back, and entranced do they all watch as you so easily slip from your captors grasp.

Bravely, you slam your head backwards, clipping his chin and dragging a squawk of pain from his lips at the dull ache which was beginning to bloom. The weapon wavers in his grasp and with swift movement, you reach upwards and slam the offending object clean from his hold, feeling the slightest nick against your skin before it went clattering across the ground. Without even allowing him time to comprehend what had happened, you brandish your own blade and hold it beneath his chin. 

"Don't. Move."

Mike does you the honour of knocking the guy out, leaving him limp on the ground as Connie and Armin were smart enough to utilise their carriages to carry people back to base. Both Reiner, Eren and Mikasa are tasked with guarding the captured thieves as Armin and Krista lead the main carriage and the others are in the secondary following one. Hange and Mike are upon their horses to the front and finally you and Levi bring up the rear of the group. 

"Did you talk...with Erwin?" 

Levi doesn't look your way, but you know he heard your words.

"About what?" 

"Locating me elsewhere?" 

"Fucking shitty glasses can't keep her mouth shut." He curses to himself before abruptly looking upon you who jolts under his sudden attention. "No. I didn't speak with him about it." 

You furrow your brows.  
"Why?" 

"Why do you think? You belong with the Scouts."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors once more! I really do try with spotting them all but sometimes one or two can slip! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


	10. The Beauty In The Ignorance.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin calls for a meeting, shit goes down.

Commander Erwin has called for a private meeting with all involved soldiers of the incident the minute you step back onto base ground. His office is packed with you all crammed tightly inside, but you hold no shame in sitting upon his desk, one leg perched atop of the other as you dragged your gaze across from one soldier to another. Erwin's by your side, seated with his back pressed against his chair all the while he sighed in annoyance. The 104th look awkward and tense in their own skins, which is in great contrast to yourself, Levi, Hange and Mike who appear way too comfortable considering the predicament. 

"What has happened tonight by no means has been an event based upon pure luck on their behalf." Erwin's words seem to bounce in a daunting manner against his office walls, resonating within the silence. "We've reason to believe that there is a mole amongst the Scouts Regiment and so until we weed who ever it is out, nobody within this room is to speak of what has happened. Am I understood?" 

"Yes Commander!"

"How do you propose we find out who it is Smith?" Mike questions, forgetting himself for a minute and essentially making a big mistake as both Erwin and you look over by instinct. That action alone causes several questionable looks. Already, you can see the cogs turning in Armin's head and it seems a few other of the younger soldiers are quick to start piecing things together too which causes you to thoughtlessly mutter a curse under your breath. 

Armin finally looks upon you. "Are you perhaps-" 

There's a knock at the office door, and you're eager to seize the distraction. Hopping from your seat, you bound over towards the direction of the sound and creak the door open only in the slightest. Petra is revealed to be standing there, with Oluo by her side. 

"We would like to request to speak with the Commander." Is what she says, voice firm and strong as she stares you directly in the eye. You can't help it. You smirk like the cat who got the cream. 

"He's busy." Your tone is chipper, and you faintly hear Levi warning you to watch yourself but you pay him no heed. Instead, you smile sweetly and step out of the office all together to close the door shut firmly behind you. With your hands clasped tightly behind your back, you roll on the balls of your feet and proceed to smile charmingly at the two members of Levi's squad.

"It's confidential and important. " Is what Oluo says on behalf of Petra.

"Then I'm afraid it will have to wait for another time of convenience. He cannot be pulled away from this meeting at any cost." 

Oluo frowns, and you know this tough act is all just a front to impress the ginger haired beauty at his side but you decide you'll entertain the idea of him for a short while. In the face of his clear annoyance, you continue to sweetly smile, eyes formed crescents and your head cocked innocently to the side as you internally waited for one of them to say the wrong thing and ultimately fuck up. Maybe you'd be nice enough to let them off the hook if they did though? Maybe you'd give them a free card pass? 

"What are you? His messenger owl?" 

Maybe not. 

Within the Commander's office where every single word said outside could be heard, Mike, Hange and Erwin just wince in anticipation as Levi curses his own squad member out for his own blatant idiocy. The younger scouts listen in confusion, perplexed at the obvious displays of expectancy on their superiors faces.  
Outside, your smile widens despite the sensation of annoyance which had gripped your being whole. Petra remains silent and expects nothing, whilst Oluo is slightly frustrated at the lack of cooperation on your end. 

What neither of them thought to anticipate however was your calm exterior breaking at the speed of light with an action so quick it could have been missed if it didn't leave the effect which it did. In the blink of an eye, you've got Oluo pressed up against the adjacent corridor wall, his neck crushed between the fold of your arm which you tensed more and more with each passing second.  
Petra snaps back in shock, hearing and feeling the thud of Oluo's body against the wall as it vibrated down to the floor and through the soles of her boots. She shouts your name in shock, but you're ignorant to her.

"Release him! Oluo! Are you okay?" 

He can only gurgle in response, eyes slowly beginning to roll into the back of his head as you applied more adding pressure. You don't spare Petra even a second glance, superior or not, you do not care as you hiss a warnining into Levi's squad members ear. 

"Let's get one thing straight pretty boy. I'm nobody's messenger, so don't misunderstand. Unlike you, I don't bend over and come running at every beck and call a superior makes." 

You pull away from his as quick as what you were to grab him. Oluo drops in an instant, coughing and rubbing at the red marks which now stains his skin. You don't spare him a second glance nor do you apologise for your actions, what you do is instead order Petra to move from your path and she does so with fumbling steps. You scoff at the back of your throat, stepping casually back through the doorway of Erwin's office and slamming the door closed behind you.  
The gathered 104th scouts stare at you in astonishment, some slack jawed as they watch you resume your earlier position atop of Erwin's desk.

"Did I not order you to play nice when I stationed you out here?" Erwin can only sigh, face resting in his hands as he propped his elbows atop of his desk

"That was me playing nice, you and I both know I can do much worse than what I've just done." You try to smother the grin which stretches across your face, but your attempts are futile as the expression consumes you whole. You know you're safe here. Levi can't do a thing in retaliation. However later you know you will have to inevitably watch your back because Lance Corporal Levi could always strike when you least expected it.

"You're not a new Scout...are you?" Sasha finally asks the question all of the younger Scouts seemed to be thinking. 

You lean forward, humming low in the back of your throat. "What gave me away?"

"You're too comfortable here. We assumed you were apart of the Garrison or something at first but you're too experienced for that to be true." Armin is exceptionally smart, you've got to give him that.

You knock your head back in thought.  
"You're right about that. I've been a Scout since Hange and Mike have. But that's a story for another time kiddos." You turn to Erwin specifically. "About the mole?" 

"I'm assigning you and Hange directly to this motive." He looks over the gathered group. "If anything comes up that sounds remotely suspicious which could be linked to this, your contact points or Hange and (Y/n)." His gaze shifts to Levi and Mike. "Interrogation of the thieves we've got captured down in the cells starts tonight, I'm certain of the fact I can trust you two on this?" 

The two men nod. 

"That will be all then. A new day is starting soldiers, prepare for it accordingly!" 

A series of fisted hands being pressed against chests is all that can be heard now, and Erwin can only nod the once before Levi is the first one to file out with the group slowly tapering out after him. You remain behind, waiting for the door to swing to a close behind Bertholdt's retreating form before jumping down from your position and standing directly in front of your brother.

Finally, Erwin gets a good look over you. From the small slice to your neck to the shining bruise on your eye. He inclines his head towards it.

"I'd ask what happened, but it's obvious that Levi got to you before you could get to him."

You snarl in response. 

"You have an idea of who the mole is...don't you?" Is all you question, seeing no need to beat around the bush. 

He nods. "I do, but it's just a speculation." The Commander reaches into one of his desk drawers and rifles through it to procure a paper file which he tosses your way. You catch it with ease, wasting no time in flicking through it. "Soldier Elise Taylor. She's your average Scout but she's survived her first few expeditions with ease. Can't say her kill and assist number is anything praise worthy but apparently there was word around when she graduated from cadet ranking that her grading was so high due to her knack for persuasion." 

You arch a brow at the numbers and information written down beneath said soldiers name on the files in your hand. 

"She's dirty in other words?" 

Erwin nods once more. You toss the file back to him.

"I'm not going to question you on this Erwin. I just need to know what you want me to do with her if I find out it is her." 

Erwin shrugs, and for a moment it's rather scary how he steels his face so quickly. 

"I'll decide that closer to the date. One thing for sure though is that the Garrison nor the Military Police Brigade need to be informed of this matter. It's strictly a Scouts Regiment issue and we will deal with it accordingly."  
You shrug just like how your brother had done.  
"I'm giving you a week on this. No later." 

You want to complain at how short of a time that is, but you know better than to do so. No doubt Erwin wanted this problem solved as soon as possible, what with his plate already being so full with Eren the titan shifter, the expedition slowly drawing closer and humanities entire survival being at stake. So instead, you comply. Bowing your head and saluting your brother with a fist pressed atop of your beating heart before he finally dismissed you. 

The sun is beginning to peer over the horizon once more, and you're surprised your lack of sleep hasn't caught up with you yet as the corridors begin to fill out with awakening Scouts. You're headed straight for the mess hall where a well earned meal awaits you all the while your mind wanders elsewhere.

Elise Taylor, huh? 

This assignment would be a fun one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	11. Ever Known.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, everything you thought to have known was a lie.

A week in actual fact is no time at all. By the fifth day you're already clutching at straws when it comes to uncovering the truth of Erwin's speculated mole. You had tracked every move Elise Taylor was possible of making out here at the Scouts base, but by midnight when the sixth day was beginning to roll over, she finally acts. 

The Moon peaks in warning over the rain burdened clouds that threaten to open up at any given moment, but the dull weather is something which couldn't possibly deter you from tonight's motive as you jump cleanly from your Mustang a few metres away from an opening within the wall where another Arabian breed of horse stands. Typical military mount. It's easy to sneak past the creature, back pressed tightly against the large wall and feet shuffling slightly to avoid the horse being spooked at your sudden presence and therefore potentially alerting it's rider in the process. You slip through the opening with ease, being enveloped in momentary darkness which you persevered through before yellow, dim lighting illuminated the scene spread before you. 

There's not a single inch of you which can comprehend the very thing you look out upon, an entire city hidden beneath the walls and villages up top which is teeming with people despite the horrid conditions you can easily detect. You stand helplessly at the top of a steep staircase, the very action of it all making you realise that maybe you were well out of your depth with this one. Optimising on this lost feeling are two men who leer forward, grubby hands reaching forward and down here you were quick to realise that the uniform on your back meant nothing. They didn't care for titles. 

"You lost little missy? Don't you know you gotta pay to use these stairs, otherwise boss man won't be happy." 

Your lips draw back in a snarl, teeth bared as you kicked out exactly like how a cornered, feral animal would do. Your display does very little in warning though, one of the two latches their large hand around the material of your tie and uses it to yank you forward. Helpless is what you are, knowing one of the moral codes to a soldier was to avoid conflict with standard civilians at all cost. You're tense in his hold, gaze flitting about restless as you scanned for any possible opening of escape. Your resolve of playing nice however snaps the minute a hand slides too close down your spine. 

"It's laughable really," you beginning to speak has the two men snapping their heads back, surprised that you weren't already choked up with fear and incapable of voicing your thoughts. "That you've obviously mistaken me for somebody who gives a fuck about what your boss has to say." 

Their faces sour at your crude language, mouths pursed and puckered tightly as the one who had a firm grip on you fisted his free hand and pulled it backwards, probably having every intent to send it colliding savagely against your ribs. You attempt to curl in on yourself as much as possible, pinching your eyes shut tightly and wincing in anticipation of the incoming blow.

The hit never connects. 

Instead, they both draw in a haggard gasp which hitches in their throats, eyes blown wide in fear and the reason for this fear you noticed was due to the claw like grip on the man's wrist who had been seconds away from striking you cold. You follow the grasping hand, a revealed forearm and neatly folded sleeves at it's elbow, small but sturdy shoulders, a strong, sharp jawline and eyes so cold a blizzard could storm within them.  
You release a baited breath you hadn't even realised you were holding, tension slipping from your body instantly despite the man still possessing a firm grip on you. 

"I would advise against your actions with this one gentlemen." A shudder runs up your spine at his words, intentions for tonight forgotten in that second as his eyes met your own and he had the audacity, the nerve, to smirk your way. "I don't like what's mine being touched so carelessly you see." 

All at once, do your fingertips become numb and your insides burn hot. Your head snaps back in shock and your cheeks flush because 'what the hell is he saying!?' You want to scream that you're certainly not his, not now, not ever, but your words in this instance fail you and with a constricting throat, all you can do is openly gape at him as he so easily releases the brutes grip on you and trades places so you're now by his side and past the two trembling men.

"Yes sir! Our apologies sir!" 

You marvel at the complete flip in character, but the man besides you doesn't seem to care as he instead snatches up your limp wrist and scoffs at the two men before turning and walking the two of you down the large amount of stairs. It's only when you both reach the end of them that he turns to speak specifically with you, but you're still at a loss for words.

"What the fuck are you doing down here?" 

You're looking at him, but not truly seeing him. His words are still rattling about inside your head and rendering you back to the same soldier you were all those years ago. It just wasn't fair how he could play you so easily, he pulled you in and then would push you back out and like a fool you would still bend and break willingly at every order he dared make. He calls your name, and like a spell being lifted do you come back to your senses all at once.

"I'm not yours Levi." Is what you hiss, but you're not quite sure if you're saying it directly to him or saying it as a reminder to yourself. Either way, it helps ground you back to the current situation at hand. 

"Be grateful I helped you when I did." He barks back, blizzard eyes meeting your own blazing ones as neither one of you seem to want to yield to the other. "Now let me ask again," Levi leans forward, so much so that he's now pressed chest to chest and nose to nose with you. You're sure it's supposed to be an intimidation tactic on his behalf, but it's doing the opposite of what he wants it to do. You become tongue tied, fumbling helplessly over your words and all Levi can see in you now is the young Scout who he got to know when he first joined with Isabelle and Furlan at his sides. "What are you doing down here?" 

"Erwin's got me tailing somebody who he suspects to be the mole. I followed her down here. If it really is who he thinks it to be, that means her connections and their clients are also from here." You finally find the breath to reply, watching closely as Levi rears his head back and clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth in distaste. 

"Sounds familiar." 

"What was that?" Levi had muttered his words under his breath, you hadn't quiet heard what he had said. 

"Nothing!" He finally snaps. "Look. It's dangerous down here, alright? You shouldn't be here on your own." 

You peer around you once more. "Where is 'here' Levi? What is this place?" 

"The Underground. It's an abandoned city." He hopes you'll leave it there and ask no further questions, but you're too curious for your own good. 

"How do you know about it though?" You stare at the soldier besides you long and hard, connecting the blurry memories of your past and the current information received together until you come to a conclusion. "You're from the Underground...aren't you? You, Isabelle and Furlan. You all were. You were the ones Erwin and Mike brought back that day." 

Levi doesn't say anything more, but you know you've hit the nail on the head by the way he visibly tenses for the quickest passing second before turning away from you all together. Your mood suddenly sours when you notice one more thing.

"You. You tried to kill Erwin. You all were trying to kill Erwin and I-" You're suddenly feeling sick, because you had been such close friends with Furlan and Isabelle when they had both joined. How could you have not been? Isabelle was such a bubbly character and Furlan was like another brother to you. You had been broken when they had been killed on their very first expedition, you had fucking mourned them. And all for what? Were you even true friends to begin with? Or were they merely using you to get to your brother? And Levi! Where did that place you and him now? Everything was different now as the blindfold of ignorance was yanked clean from your eyes and the bitter truth came into light. 

How had you not pieced it all together sooner? How had Erwin kept it from you that the current Lance Corporal in power had once upon a time been tasked with the assignment to murder him and he had actually come so close to doing so? How? Just...how?

You want to scream and cry all at once as the frustration of it all eats it's way up inside of you, but you can't, because finally from the corner of your eye you see a flap of brown leather become consumed by an alleyway's darkness and you know that that's your girl. So, instead of lashing out against Levi like you truly wish to do, you swallow down your feelings and turn from him without another word. He looks like he wants to say something, and he surely attempts at doing so but his words fall on deaf ears as you cast a look over your shoulder, so scornful and full of hurt that his entire thought process just stops. There are tears which have budded at the corners of your eyes, the feeling of betrayal so overwhelming right now because did you truly ever know any of them? Or had your time together with the trio been based upon one hefty lie? 

Essentially, you're digging up a dead corpse as you remain hurt over something that had happened so long ago, but it's hard not to be upset when you thought you had truly known somebody and in the end you find out you had put your trust in the wrong people. 

You say no more. Instead deciding to run off in the direction of the girl who no doubt was Elise Taylor and sure enough the second you're consumed by the alleyway's shadows, you stumble upon the younger soldier who stands at the heart of a circle consisting of largely built men. Money is passed about in stacks, coins clattering about in their sacks as she happily sells them all the information she can on the matter of the ODM gear, having not seen nor noticed you yet. All it takes is for you to simply clear your throat and all passed dirty goods are dropped at an alarming rate. Elise grimaces from her spot and she's foolish enough to assume safety behind the five men in front of her when it appears to be only you against the five of them. 

Oh. How wrong she was.

Levi practically drops in from nowhere, and in a flash he's already taken down two of the five and it doesn't take him long to take out the remaining three either. Too soon are they all a groaning mess on the floor and both you and Levi are staring upon Elise who trembles and begs for forgiveness. You allow her nothing of the sort. Ropes are secured and tied tightly around her wrists which are bound to her back, Levi snatches the dirty money from her and hefts it into his hold as you albeit roughly push the captured mole out of the alleyway and back up the stairs which lead up top to Mitras.  
You tied her horses bridle to her ropes, warning her to keep her balance on the ride back as Levi latched a rope from his mount to hers, ensuring she wouldn't try anything and run away. 

Finally, you whistle your own Mustang over, thanking him for his patience before hoisting yourself up and onto his back. Levi's looking at you, waiting for you to say something, but you're stubborn in remaining silent. 

The long ride back to the Survey Corps may be a silent one, but your head screams a million thoughts a minute.

Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	12. That's The Way It Crumbles.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you finally reach a breaking point?

It always amazed you how quickly the hurt could tide over into temporary anger, the feeling festering miserably within the deepest pits of your stomach and coursing through your very veins. Your hands trembled, sacks of gathered coins clattering as you shook until they were dropped harshly upon the top of the Commander's desk, the action and sudden noise causing the very man to jolt back in surprise.  
Erwin glances up at you, readying to sing your appraisals but promptly silencing himself the second he watched the way you yanked Elise over towards him and kicked at the back of her knees so she dropped to a kneel on the floor. 

"More of a rat than a mole is all I'm going to say." You announce, knowing that both Erwin and Levi were listening as the Lance Corporal leaned against the doorway entrance and Erwin moved to stand before the fallen Scout. "Only the lowest of the low roam those filthy streets down there. Fucking scum." It's a childish blow, and you're not exactly sure if you're speaking specifically about Elise Taylor or if perhaps your words are double edged and are aimed at the other Scout in the room. 

You move to leave, brushing harshly against Levi's shoulder and daring him to reprimand you for it but the Lance Corporal just simply grits his teeth and glares at your retreating back. Erwin snaps his head around.

"Hey! Hold up just a second!" 

"Leave it be Erwin. It's fine." Levi interrupts, shutting the office door and levelling the frantic young soldier at his Commander's feet with a scathing glare which has her attempting to shrink back into her own skin. "She discovered the Underground and like the smart ass she is, she figured us all out." 

"She knows?" That's all what Erwin can say.

Levi nods.  
"About me, Isabelle, Furlan. How we initially joined with the plan to kill you. She's pissed." He rounds on Elise once more, foot raised and the sole of his boot pressing savagely against her cheek as he pinned her face down to the floor. "And it's all your fucking fault. Just wait until I get my hands on you, you little shit." 

Erwin drops back against his chair, sighing deeply because this wasn't something he could afford to be dealing with right now. You were a force to be reckoned with when anger took a hold of you and seized you whole, and it was only just a matter of time until you blew your lid and the top would go flying off. Even now, the Commander and his Lance Corporal can hear the effects of your anger, they can hear how you curse and scream to yourself upon the training field which remains vacant at the minute in time (all scouts were gathered in the mess hall for breakfast). Your frustration is loud and it's inescapable, it pierces through what would otherwise be calm morning air and the two just know that round about now, you've got your fingers threaded through your hair and tugging harshly because you've been wronged, you're pissed, and there's no other way for you to vent that feeling out. 

"Can't imagine what scale you two have fucked up on." Elise has the fleeting confidence to spit out a remark, but she's immediately silenced once more with Levi's foot resuming it's place in crushing her face against the office floor. 

"If you were smart you wouldn't talk. Don't dig yourself a deeper grave you piece of shit." 

Levi's harsh language holds no effect over the Commander who is present to witness it. If anything, Erwin appears more agitated than Levi himself as the blonde squats down besides the traitor Scout who begins to tremble in the face of her superior. 

"The question of the matter is now though...what to do with you." He twirls a strand of her hair around his finger, face void of emotion and that much more scarier as Elise returned back to her earlier tactic of begging for forgiveness. "Should I be cruel enough to feed you to the lion which is Scout Smith, I'm sure you hear her outside now don't you? She's already pretty unimpressed as it is, I'm sure she'd love to sink her claws into you." Erwin delights in the way the soldier at his feet whimpers in despair, choking on her tongue as she sobbed and pleaded. "Or perhaps I could leave you to Lance Corporal Levi? Do you deserve the easy route out though?" 

"Why don't we just feed her to the titans?" Levi pipes in his two cents. 

Erwin shakes his head, standing once more staring emptily upon the mess which was their precious little mole. "Too nice. She should suffer for awhile. I'll figure it out later, for now take her down to the cells where her other 'friends' are. They'll all be receiving the same punishment." 

Levi nods the once, and is lethal with his actions of yanking Elise's body up and forcefully dragging her out of the Commander's office, hissing at her to 'shut the fuck up'. The Commander watches them leave and in the instance his office door is closed, the blonde collapses against his seat with another tired sigh. That dealt with one problem, now he needed to figure out the best way to approach the issue with you. 

You. You who currently storms through the barrack corridors and dismisses the way all soldiers in your way part in an instance because just from your face alone, they can detect your evident anger. You're aimless, wandering without a direction in mind because your thoughts are running rampant and no form of sense could break through your consciousness.  
It's when you stop outside the double doors of the mess hall that you snap back to the reality, albeit reluctantly but mostly due to the fact that something is snapped against your forehead and upon inspection you find Mike to be standing in front of you with his finger resting against your skin. 

He had flicked you.

"What's got you raging twerp?" He moves his hand to rest it atop of your head, ruffling your hair like a child and the action causes a scowl of distaste to twist upon your face. 

"Did you know?" Is all you can say, looking up at the older Scout with a level of expectancy reflected in your eyes. 

Mike frowns.  
"About what?"

"The Underground. Levi, Isabelle and Furlan practically plotting to kill Erwin. How they lied to me to no doubt get closer to him. Did you know?" 

Mike nods. You feel your stomach churn with new found revenge. 

"You knew?" You sound like a broken record player on repeat, but the concept of Mike knowing as well too and not having told you was a pretty low blow to the trust which you thought you could have in him. Heck, could you even trust any of them?  
"You knew...and you didn't think to tell me?" You're raising your voice now, and you don't stop shouting even when he grips at your wrists and shoves you into a more secluded corridor, conveniently where both his and Levi's living quarters were located. You couldn't care less though, you were too blindsided with anger to consider the chances of Levi being around right now to witness every word you had to say. 

"That isn't it. Just listen." 

"No!" You hiss, ripping your arms from his hands and jamming a solid finger against his chest, being able to feel the dull thud which vibrated through your fingertip from the action. "I don't want your goddamn excuses Zacharias! I didn't give Levi the time of day, I won't give Erwin the time of day so don't think for one second that I'll give you that privilege. How could you? How could any of you!?" 

"Erwin's here isn't he? He's alive isn't he?" Mike snaps for a moment and sees red, but it's nothing compared to the scream of irritation which crawls it's way up your throat. 

"That's not the point!" 

"Then what is!?"

"I fell for a man who was plotting to kill my brother Mike! I fell in love with a man who was more than likely using me to get closer to the Commander and you all fucking left me in the dark on the entire matter. I mourned for people who were using me as a pawn to get to what they were truly after in life." You step back, chest heaving and breathing fast as your face flushed red and un-shed tears blurred your vision. 

Mike stands stunned. He doesn't really know what to say nor do because this open display of emotion coming from you was so different. So foreign. So...strange. It made his skin crawl and his heart beat erratically in his chest because for once, the mighty Mike Zacharias didn't have a plan of action when it came to tackling the problem which was you. He just stares helplessly, ghost of words which he wishes he could say lodged in his throat because what could he actually say? What could Mike say or do to make this issue go away? What steps could he take to stop the tears from falling from your eyes? There was none. 

"I got played." Your laugh is bitter and harsh, a sneer laced through your tone so heavily it causes the man in front of you to wince. You sniffle, using the sleeve of your jacket to wipe away the tears in your eyes. 

"Don't say it like that. That's not true." Mike finally finds his confidence to speak.

"It's not? But I did. I got played, and I don't know why I'm that surprised over it all because Levi never loved me." You choke up. "I was just a nuisance that I bet he was glad to see go. And Furlan and Isabelle, I guess they didn't see me in the same light which I saw them." You scoff, kicking the tip of your boot against the floor. "What a pathetic mess I am." You're laughing again, but the grin doesn't exactly lift your lips at the corners and you're crying too much for it to even begin brightening up your face. 

Mike says nothing. He just turns and begins to walk away, the mere sight of him doing so makes a strangled sob fall from your lips because 'maybe I really am a nuisance?' That thought is however quickly erased from your mind when a hand is pressing roughly against your shoulder and pushing you back until your pinned against the corridor wall. A blizzard meets a storm and suddenly you're enraptured.

Mike hadn't left to be rude. He had left because someone more fitting to deal with this issue had sauntered into view and had looked beyond pissed. 

Levi's stare has you rooted to one spot, legs trembling beneath you and threatening to give out at any moment without warning if it weren't for the Lance Corporal's one hand which locked you between the wall and himself. His uniform is soaked, had it begun to rain? Either way, beneath his white dress shirt, you can see muscles which tense and quiver, little droplets of rain sliding down from the tips of his hair and down the dip of his nose to drop against your cheek, mingling with the tears that had persistently remained.  
He says nothing, just breathes heavily and the rise and fall of his chest is almost too relaxing not to watch because Levi was here with you now. He was alive and he was real. Biting back a snarl, a growl instead rumbles deep at the back of his throat and you suppose it to be an intimidating gesture but all you do is raise your chin in defiance, head held high even though on the inside you were crumbling down. How much had he heard? 

"You don't get to say that kind of shit. You know nothing. You hear me, brat?" He knocks you back, head hitting the wall slightly as he pressed more into you. 

You swallow down the urge to cuss him out then and there. 

"Don't get mad at Mike about this. Don't get mad at Erwin and don't you dare fucking blame Isabelle or Furlan. I'm the one who initially accepted the offer to join the Corps. I agreed to the assignment to kill your damn brother. If you need to be mad, be mad at me and only me." His words lie thick in the air, cutting the tension like a hot knife to butter. 

You chuckle emptily.  
"You think that's what I am Levi? That I'm mad and only mad?" 

He pulls his head back, brows furrowed for a passing second as he also grit his teeth and reluctantly nods. You sigh. 

"Here's the thing Lance Corporal," his title on your tongue is spat out like venom. "I can't have you acting like you know me when it's clearly you who knows nothing. Don't try and work out my head when you can't even tell that it's not only anger which I'm feeling, but mainly hurt and sadness." 

Levi narrows his eyes but keeps his silence. You push your way out from his hold, and cast a dull look over your shoulder his way. 

"I'm not mad at you Levi." His breathing staggers at your words. "I'm hurt that what you've done is betrayed me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3  
My apologies for any errors made.


	13. 57th Expedition.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a soldier is all about coming to terms with the worst of the worst, you knew that all too well.

It never got any easier. No matter what anybody else said. If anything, they always seemed to get harder. Sure, with each one successfully completed the chances of survival seemed to slowly increase but that didn't mean it was a time to slack off. How could you? When the fear of facing potential death was practically staring you dead in the face and taunting you. Even the slightest displacement of your playing cards within the deck could cost you a life. Maybe your own at that. 

That's why you grip tightly at the leather of your Mustang's bridle, the material wrapped securely around the back of your thumbs as you stared ahead of you in trepidation. The cloak upon your back flutters slightly against the passing wind, gusts kissing at the exposed skin of your face that you pay no need to because you're overall numb. The gate which cranks to a slow open sounds and looks like something akin to that of a nightmare, the mere sight of it all eliciting memories of past expeditions that refused to erase themselves from your memory. You grit your teeth, jaw clenched as you willed them away, unaware to the brief glance cast over a certain Scout's shoulder who watches you closely. 

They're fearful for you. Erwin, Levi, Mike, Hange. Even if they don't show it, they're unsure as to how you will react to being back out on the field after such a long break away from it all. You think nothing of it though, don't spare your sudden return any thought because it wasn't what took precedence at that current moment in time. You're partnered with Mikasa for this specific expedition, and in some ways you have to praise Erwin for his critical thinking because it was a smart move on his behalf to pair you both up and it seemed everybody else knew it too who were aware of not only her kill and assist count, but yours too. 

You glance to Eren who looks visibly nervous the more the gate opens and his old home village comes into view. The area still contains titans and therefore cover Corps are essential for the formation to pass through the furthest gate which would take you all into deep, titan infested territory. You catch his attention, mouthing something his way which seems to have an instant impact in loosening his tense muscles. 

'We're here for you Braveheart.' 

You smile softly with a slight cock of your head, appearing playful with the sole aim to calm the apprehensive titan shifter and in some shape or form, it seems to work. He shakes his head, gathering his wits about him and sending a solid nod of 'thanks' in your direction before straightening his back out and steeling himself for what he was inevitably about to see. You pull your gaze back to the bridle in your grip, leaning forward to pat the side of your horse's neck in an encouraging manner. He whinnies, jerking his head about slightly because he could sense the obvious tension which plagued the air. 

The gate finally drops, and Mikasa stares at you for you to look back, the both of you sharing one mutual, understanding nod before pushing both of your horses forward in what could only be described as some form of a stampede. Hooves clobber the ground and the sound thrums through your entire body, rattling your bones as you marvelled in horror at the destruction and chaos of a place which no doubt used to be so peaceful and beautiful.  
You're waiting for the girl by your side to say something or have some form of a reaction, but she simply keeps her head down and surges her steed forward, keeping up with your own as the first titan sighting is announced amongst the ranks.

"10 metre." 

Two Scouts go flying past, the first failing to land a slice deep enough but the second succeeded. The area is rather bare of the walking beasts, but you know what to expect when the Scouts pass through the outer most gate and by Erwin's instructions, split off into formation. 

You and Mikasa pull back all too easily, too calm for your own good that it was almost frightening. There's a certain level of ease in both of your movements which somebody only confident in their own skills could possess, making you stand out greatly in comparison to the other newbies who hadn't perhaps scored as high on the ranking system when it came to graduation. 

It isn't long until the first flare fills the sky, red, and you know that that one will be only the first of many. When a flare fills the sky, it isn't long until the screams follow soon after. Anguish accompanies the tapering smoke which clouds and it makes you wonder what the number of losses will be this time. Will you be apart of that number? You swallow thickly, turning to see a Scout nearby fire a red flare and sure enough thundering straight forwards in your direction is what appears to be a 5 metre. You shoot a flare in response of acknowledgement, paying no heed to Mikasa who easily zips forward and takes it down all too swiftly, with you reaching forward to snatch the bridle of her horse up to keep him by close. 

The titan drops, the sound echoing across the open space area as the Scout who had initially set off the flare gapes in awe. The Ackerman claims her steed back, humble in her actions whilst she sheathed her blades once more. 

"Say Youngblood," Mikasa snaps her head to attention at the sound of a nickname on your tongue. "If you don't mind me asking, what made you join the Survey Corps? Being apart of this Regiment is basically like signing your life away, and you're so skilled. You could have easily attained safety within the inner most wall as a Brigade Police or something like that." 

She nuzzles her face further into the red scarf wrapped securely around her neck and for a passing moment, you miss that black jacket of yours left discarded across your pillow back at the barracks. 

"I followed Eren here." Is all she replies. 

"He's very important to you, isn't he?" 

She nods. "He saved me." 

You know not to press any further, but that revelation alone has you heart swelling because even in a corrupt world such as this one, loyal and dedicated people still existed. Mikasa Ackerman was a clear example of this.  
A black flare shatters the scene and you've no time to respond with a flare of your own when an aberrant titan is breaking suddenly through the clearing and lunging forward, jaw unhinged as it snapped up the first Scout it could get its hands on. 

"Shit!" You growl, pulling the reins of your horse backwards to divert from the original direction. "Mikasa. It's ankles and the back of its knees. Go! I'll get its nape." 

She's gone in a flash, hooks latching into the flesh of the titans calves and her actions are too quick to watch but the titan is dropping with steam billowing from its ankles and the back of its knees as instructed. In that time, you've also scaled the beast, blades brandished so one is seemingly held backwards in comparison to the other. You twist at your hips, gaining the right momentum and bowing your back before slicing cleanly through the creatures nape. You stand atop of it, adrenaline high and chest heaving because that was your first kill in a long time and you had briefly forgotten the feeling which had came with slaying the titans. 

Two fingers between your lips, you whistle with Mikasa at your side and diligently do your two horses come racing back just in time as another titan's form peaks on the hill's horizon. You frown, throwing yourself onto your Mustang's back and watching as a Scout from the right of the original formation comes racing over. He warns of a direction change made by Erwin and the complete eradication of several troops which has you and Mikasa tensing up instinctively. You frown, thanking him for the relayed message and nothing more as another Scout who you recognise to be Connie Springer comes racing forth.

"H-Hey, the middle section seems to have entered the forest, but what's happening with our formation?" 

"We have no formation." Is what Mikasa replies. "All the side groups have to go around the forest." 

"We've lost our scouting abilities." You add, noticing the way Connie's face darkens with fear. 

"Why didn't we avoid this forest to prevent that? Did Commander Erwin misread the map?"

You scoff, because that's certainly not the case. You knew your brother well, every decision made was one made critically.  
"Unlikely. Maybe we were forced to go through the forest to run away from the threat on the right." 

The younger Scouts nod, but say nothing more, dismounting your horses instantaneously and scaling the front trees of the forest as soon as it came into view. You're seated upon one of the thicker branches, legs dangling and blades brandished as Mikasa stood to your right, looking emptily down upon the titans who scratch at the bark and reach helplessly for your many forms. 

'What exactly is going through your mind Erwin?' You begin to think. 'If there is such a threat so prevalent, why haven't we retreated? It's barely been an hour. It would have been safer to retreat, so why?' 

It's entertaining in a twisted way you note, to watch the way the titan's try so hard in climbing up the trees with every piece of strength they have, only for the Scout's to change their position all too easily and slip from the beast's grasp once more. You grin, chuckling slightly.

"Look at 'em go!" Cackling, you're smart to secretly listen in on Jean's and Armin's conversation which slowly begins to add up inside your own mind. 

Those explosions earlier that Ymir had been complaining about now made sense because the 'threat' in actuality was the female titan and no doubt Erwin had drew it into the forest with the intention of using Eren as bait to capture it alive. You're all of a sudden feeling sick, stomach churning and twisting as your skin went pale and clammy. You were nervous. To make matters worse, your skin crawls when a feral scream booms through the open space, so loud you have no choice but to place both hands over your ears and squeeze to try and protect yourself from it. 

"What was that?" Mikasa breathes in shock.

The first rush happens, and all the gathered Scouts can do is stand in confusion as they watch the first few titans break past the front of the forest and delve inside.

"Shit! Were they all aberrant?" 

"Doesn't matter! Engage! Stop them from entering the forest at all costs!" 

You too move to intercept, but are halted by a clasping, trembling hand on your wrist. Mikasa too stops upon noticing you not by her side. 

"Sasha?" She questions on your behalf.

"I've heard that sound before." She reveals, voice hollow and full of caution. "Back in my village in the forests. It's the sound of an animal who has got nothing left to lose. It means the hunt is drawing to a close." 

"So that means we must be careful?" 

Sasha nods feverishly.  
"Even more so than usual." 

The three of you finally launch forward, Sasha's words rattling about in your head like a warning which you fully intended to heed as you dropped your first titan from the batch of many. It's useless though. No matter how many Scouts there are and it seems Erwin knows that too as his voice resonates throughout the forest clearing. 

"Retreat! Fall back into formation! Return back to Karanes!" 

A blue flare penetrates the sky and now you truly are left wondering exactly what has gone on inside the forest for Erwin to have to resort to retreating. 

"Does this mean we have a success?" Jean's optimistic, and you want to think the same but that's not the case.

"Don't be too hasty." You scold, feet placed securely in the stirrups attached to your horses saddle. "It's not over until we're back behind the wall. Stay alert." 

Your words are proven correct all too soon it seems as a spark ignites across the sky and you can all feel a rush of steam even far out from the forest. All of the soldiers around you look fearful and although you yourself want to turn back, you know you can't. Neither Mike, Hange, Levi, Erwin nor their squads are around, therefore as the most experienced soldier out on the field after them, responsibility falls upon you. 

"Don't falter! Continue on!" 

You wish you could follow your own words, but that's particularly hard to do when a secondary spark flashes across the sky and an angered roar thunders which you and several other Scouts know all too well.

"Eren."

"Braveheart." 

There's no further words exchanged, but there's also no hesitation in you and Mikasa both breaking ranks to speed hastily back in the direction of the forest where the sound came from. 

"Wait! No, what are you-?" 

Sasha receives no reply, the both of you too far gone now with one destination in mind. Standing and jumping from the backs of your horses, you're both a blur within the forest as the hooks of your gear latches from tree to tree and helps swing you along. Mikasa freezes only when stumbling upon the one thing she never wished to see and you yourself have no words. Eren's titan form steams, ripped apart and immobile all the while the female titan peers over him and bites into his nape, revealing his human body which snaps into view that she pulls into her mouth. 

"Fuck! Braveheart!" You scream, hoping that your words will get to him meanwhile Mikasa trembles and shakes with bottled raged which threatens to spill out. It does the minute the female titan turns to move away.

"Give. Me. Eren. Back!" She screeches, no coordination to her movements as she expertly wields her gear and catches up with the female titan. Blood steams from her skin and uniform as her blade cuts into the beasts nose, face, ankles, elbows and knees. You drop in to deliver the killing blow to her nap, but are thoroughly surprised when she moves both hands to cover the area and your blades shatter upon impact. 

You and Mikasa pull back, drawing in heaving breaths and exchanging battered blades for new ones. 

"Why won't it cut?" 

"She's an intelligent." Is all you can say. "There's a person in there like Eren." 

"She'll be dead by the time I'm through with her. Just give me some time." 

The titan stands, beady, blue eyes honing in on Mikasa before shifting to you. She doesn't make any move to attack, but instead turns away to run in the opposite direction. 

Mikasa cries.  
"Wait! Eren!"

The two of you are about to jerk forward when a hand scruffs Mikasa by the collar of her jacket and an arm is wrapped around your middle to drag you away. You both jolt, scathing looks being thrown to the soldier who had been brave enough to interfere and as a result you're left choked up by the blizzard eyes which could cut ice. 

"Fall back for now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3  
Apologies for any errors made, also I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't as exciting~


	14. Retrieval.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did the female titan ever really stand a chance?

"Maintain this distance. She's probably tired. The pace she's keeping isn't particularly fast. It seems like he was bitten right out along with the neck. Is Eren dead?" 

You yourself are silent in the pursuit of the female titan, but you're close enough to Mikasa to physically hear the way her jaw locks before being released once more. Her expression is livid, and you suddenly feel the slightest shred of pity for the poor soul in the back of that titans nape controlling this entire ordeal. Mikasa Ackerman was already a force to be reckoned with and now that she had been angered? She would be near impossible to stop. 

"Eren is alive." She grounds out, "Our target is obviously highly intelligent and capturing Eren is apparently her primary goal. If she wanted him dead, she would have crushed him with her jaw. Instead, she's carefully holding Eren inside her mouth while fighting to escape." 

Levi is quick to respond.  
"Eating Eren may have also been her goal. If so, he would have ended up in her stomach. It makes more sense to believe he's dead."

"He's alive!"

Levi glances over, looking from you to the younger Scout at your side. 

"I hope you're right." 

"If only you'd protected Eren, this wouldn't have happened!" 

"Mikasa!" You don't know why you do it, but you break your silence to scold the Scout for her accusatory statement. "It's useless placing blame now. What's done is done." Strangely enough, your words seem to hit home somewhere close to yourself too. 

She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth but says nothing more, instead watching as Levi twists mid air to now completely face her. 

"I see now. It was you back there. You're Eren's close friend. We'll focus all our manpower on one goal so first of all, forget killing the female-form titan." 

"But she's already killed so many of our comrades!" 

"So long as she crystallizes her skin, there's no way we can kill her." You reply on the Lance Corporal's behalf, finally catching up with piecing the stray shreds of information together. "We have to keep hoping that Eren is alive and attempt to rescue him before she leaves the forest." 

"Smith." Levi all of a sudden calls your name. "With me. We'll focus on hacking her up." He turns to Mikasa then. "You focus on drawing her attention."

Too easy, everything seems to fall back into place with you and him. Like you never truly left, it's all a memorised routine you've both done again and again as Levi takes the lead and you're right behind him, waiting for the one thing you both expect to happen. Mikasa darts forward like ordered, the female titans attention on her for all of three seconds until she's twisting and throwing a carefully calculated punch. Too bad that movement works in Levi's favour and not her own. 

Too fast for the human eye to comprehend, Levi shoots straight forward and you heave yourself downwards. Like a bottle cap being released under pressure through the air once more, you twist your way down from the top of one her thighs down to her ankle and likewise Levi moves from her knuckles to her shoulder. She falters, readying to drop and as Levi drags himself back up to scale around her chest and other arm, you're scraping your way up her other leg. Finally, she crumbles, slumped forward with her hand falling limp to her side which revealed her unguarded nape. 

Mikasa seizes the chance. Rushing in, her actions are hasty and based upon emotions alone as a fierce battle cry fell from her lips. There's something off though about it all for you to trust Mikasa going in and returning unscathed. You barely notice the female titan shift. 

"Levi!" You shriek after he too clocks on.

"Stop!" He orders, snatching Mikasa's attention until she was made aware of the titan's one arm which had raised. There was no way she would escape on time. 

"Mikasa!" Screeching, you're fully prepared to launch yourself forward and push the girl from harm's way when it seems the other Scout present has the exact same idea. 

He yanks at her uniform cloak, essentially pulling her out of the way as he instead stood atop of the raised hand. The younger Scout doesn't notice it, but you sure do. The unnatural way that the Lance Corporal lands on his ankle and the fleeting expression of pain which twists his face. You openly curse, ready to yank him out of there as well but he knows you know, you realise that all too soon when he shoots you a glance which practically orders you to 'stay there'. He slashes forward, unhinging the titan's jaw and leaving you all to watch as it falls open and reveals Eren's salivated form. You repress the urge to gag, watching the Lance Corporal jump forward and snatch the unconscious soldiers body up which had Mikasa crying out.

"Eren!"

"Hey! We've got to get out of here! Don't worry about him, he's alive. Filthy though. We're retreating for now. Don't lose sight of your primary objective. Is it more important to get the revenge you desire? Isn't he a dear friend of yours?" 

Mikasa trips over her own words, but says nothing more. You're reluctant to leave, staring at the steaming body of the fallen titan and thinking how easy it would be to reveal the human inside of it's nape. Levi can practically sense your desire to rebel against his initial orders, and levels you with a glare.

"We move. Now." 

Kissing your teeth, you swallow down your retaliation and instead jump through the air following quickly after Mikasa and Levi who has Eren in arm. The two focus on the path straight ahead, but you can't help but cast a glance back, stunned at what you saw because the titan, it was...crying. 

"Sir." You call out, your head cocking backwards which Levi followed closely to have his eyes widen at the same sight you had saw. 

Breaking through the forest entrance, you're all glad to see that some soldiers had still remained around. Eren's loaded up onto one of the carts and Mikasa is quick to follow in after him. Levi's horse is handed over to him by another fellow Scout but your Mustang is nowhere around in sight. 

"Is everything alright?" Mikasa questions from her seat besides Eren but you just smile and nod, two fingers pressed between your lips once more as a shrill whistle pierced the air. 

You wait for one passing second. Two. And then here your Mustang comes, galloping over the peak of the hill with clobbering hooves which only ceases when he's directly by your side. 

"That's a good boy." You coo, his face pressed against the side of your own as you tip toed to wrap your arms around his neck. "I'll treat you when we get back, I promise you." You're speaking to your Mustang, but you're actually watching Levi as he kneels down before four wrapped corpses, his actions tense but also lethargic as he grabs something. A tradition dating back to even before you had joined. The patch from the corpses uniform jacket is pressed tightly within his fisted hand and you're debating on whether or not speaking with him then and there was a smart idea. You decide against it. Instead, mounting your horse and trotting slowly beside Mikasa and Eren who was beginning to wake up. 

In horror, you realise your hands are trembling once more. Reins shaking in your grasp which had your steed snorting in response. You apologised, or attempted to, but the words died out on your lips as a shout of terror was sounded.

"Two titans! 10 metres!"

You're frantically turning to the Lance Corporal and the Commander, awaiting their orders and not missing the way Levi grabs rather harshly at the material of his uniform pants, no doubt frustrated over his botched up ankle that more than likely was still giving him pain. 

"It will be impossible to successfully take them down out here. We will try outrun them to the walls." 

You gape at the Commander's orders because surely you would have expected him to demand they be taken down, so why? 

"Commander I can-"

"No." He's shot you down before you even have the chance. 

Regardless, you try your luck once more. Confused because you knew he knew you were fully capable of taking them down. 

"But Erwin! I can-" 

A hand pushes roughly against the back of your head, forcing it down. 

"He said no you shitty brat. Now listen to him and follow orders." 

You grit your teeth at Levi's words, suppressing the snarl which threatens to break forth and instead snap your head out from underneath his hold which has him frowning at you before turning away once more. 

"Commander! The carts are too heavy. They'll catch up at this rate!" 

Levi's obviously in a state of inner conflict, his gaze batting from left to right before ultimately settling upon the dead which lie within the many carts. You blanch, because you know what he's about to say. 

"No. Don't." 

He ignores you though and speaks on behalf of the Commander. 

"Drop the dead." 

Scouts all around tense at his words, stuttering for a response because where was the dignity in doing that? Hadn't the dead already suffered enough? Without a body, what were the people to mourn? Their families and loved ones within the walls, what would they have to connect them to their lost souls? 

"B-But Sir!" 

"This won't be the first time we've returned without the dead Levi." That's all what Erwin says, and it's all that Levi needs to encourage him. 

"Do it!" He barks, and with tears of regret in their eyes, the living Scouts upon the carts reluctantly push the first corpse of many off. 

You force yourself to watch. Force yourself to engrain each face which comes into view into your mind because they deserved this sadness. They deserved to be remembered. The dead deserved to be mourned. What you can't help however is the way past memories surface and the way your stomach churns once more with a new found vengeance. You had been in this exact same scenario before, but the dead being dropped had been your close comrades. Your friends. Dare you say, your found family amongst the ranks. Your skin boils and crawls, rippling beneath the soldiers uniform upon your back and you scramble to release the clasp of your cloak, watching it flutter backwards as it was picked up by the wind. 

Your breaking point was essentially a head of ginger, dreaded realisation sinking into your bones as you willed yourself not to check upon the Lance Corporal to the back of you who promptly dropped his head. Your blood simmers just below the surface, skin now prickling and with a flex of your neck to the left, you're standing upon your horses back, blades brandished at either of your sides as you had every intention of taking both of the pursuing titans down. Potential suicide mission or not, you were pissed. Angry at the world. Maybe this was the delayed snap you were awaiting since the traumas all the way back when, but either way your actions were to be both lethal and unforgiving. 

"Don't you fucking dare." Levi hisses, but you're oblivious to him, instead scrutinising the Commander and waiting for him to disapprove of what you were about to do.

Your brother stares you dead in the eye, but keeps his silence, and the second he turns his head the other way, you know that that's all the signal you need. You twist at the waist, one blade held backwards and that subtle shift alone catches Levi off guard. Your steed begins to slow, falling back behind the formation and waiting for the titans to draw closer to you before you acted. Your hooks fly outwards and latch into the ankles of the titan to the right. Your back arches as you're pulled forward, uniform flapping about at the movement and there's something sickly elegant in the way you spiral upwards against the titan's body, blades dipping into flesh and dragging over every space you passed. 

You're bathed in blood, and all the others can make you out as is a steaming, red blur which moves too fast to account for. 

Finally, you're at the nape, and before the titan even has time to drop, you're thrusting your blades into its nape and slicing, feeling the pull of the clean cut and watching the chunk of flesh fall away. You've no time to celebrate as the first one drops because the second is reaching for you with grubby hands, and in a horrifying twist of events, it's successful in grabbing you and lifting you up. 

You're not sure what the Scouts down below are thinking because your mind is riddled with the thought of pain as the beast grips you with more force than necessary. It grins, eyes wide with excitement as it readies to place you between its jaws. 

"Get...the fuck off me...shitty freak." Your voice is hollow and airy, and you're eager to draw in a fresh breath of air when your blades have struck through the titan's fingers and promptly cut them off. Your ribs hurt and there's no question about them being bruised, maybe broken as your hooks reattach to its cheeks and your plunging your blades into the depths of its eyes. Moving quick now, your boots are slamming against the back of its neck and its nape is sliced open swiftly. It crumbles in a heap with you atop of it, chest heaving and doused in blood which disappeared slowly in clouds of steam. 

For the last time that day, you whistle your Mustang over who comes when he's called. You press a finger to your eye, wiping the blood away which had splattered against it in annoyance before pushing the heels of your feet into the sides of your horse and spurring him onwards. It's now that your Mustang truly shines, a different breed to that of the standard Arabian horses the military used and therefore faster. He snorts and pants, but loves the feeling of being able to run at his fastest once more, the feeling a free one despite all the wreckage and carnage around you and upon you. You catch up with the rest of the formation all too soon, adrenaline bleeding from you now as the gates came into view and relief flooded you so quickly that you no longer cared to hide your pain. 

You released the reins of your horses bridle, arms wrapped protectively around your middle and each cough you drew in caused you to wince more and more because 'dammit, that hurts'. The gates are lifted upwards and no horse nor man looks exactly like they had done when they had left. There's a crowd, that much you expect, but you're too tired to pay them any attention. You know the people don't approve of what the Survey Corps do, say that their tax money is wasted, but what they don't see is that steps are being made one by one to take back even the slightest chance of Humanties survival. 

You pay no heed to the few Scouts who stop to speak with the few civilians who step forward and address them, only marginally interested in Levi who speaks with an elder gentleman for a few seconds before your struck with a sensation too intense to deal with. 

You lean forward, face pressed against the mane of your horse and you found yourself wheezing for breath now as your lungs protested and the pain became near close to unbearable.

"Are you okay?" Eren questions, him and Mikasa both peering out at you as you, with strands of hair stained with blood and sweat stuck to your forehead, twisted your neck to acknowledge them. 

You nod, unaware of Hange who latches a rope from her horse to your own as a precaution because they've all been watching you and they know what's to come. 

"Yeah," you whisper, because everything just seems all so exceptionally hard to do. "M'fine Braveheart." You had intended to say more, but it seemed that was all you were able to manage before darkness seized you whole and pulled you under with it. 

Your unconscious body slumps against your horse and threatens to slip off all together, but Levi's reaching over as soon as he sees you finally collapse. The Lance Corporal pulls you from your horse to his own with as much ease as possible, settling you in front of him where he rested your head against his chest and wrapped his arms around you to re-grasp the reins, leaving you protected in his hold. 

Levi inspects you closely, eyes roving over your crimson stained face that is still, even whilst unconscious, twisted in pain. Your lips are pursed and your brows are furrowed, leaving him no choice but to free one hand from the bridle and run a finger over your skin to smooth it out, tension fading away the second his fingertip brushed over the skin. 

The expedition was done. Eren was safe and sound once more, but at what cost? How many had been lost this time around? How many would walk away with more scars than which they could count? How many would walk away with traumas too scary to fight? How many would walk away...and not return?

Levi can only tense his arms around you, fearful for what he has lost and fearful for all he has left.

"Shitty brat. Doesn't know when to call it quits."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3  
Apologies for any errors made~


	15. Meeting Adjourned.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're desperate to sit in on the meeting which discusses the plan to capture the female titan.

The next time you come to, you find yourself to be in the medic wing back at the Survey Corps, a pair of glinting goggles the first thing you see and a tousled head of hair to accompany them. Hange grins widely, seated at your side and leaning over you. 

"Give the kid some room Zoë."

"Oh. Yeah, sorry. My bad." Her grin is sheepish, with a hand awkwardly rubbing at the back of her neck, she removes herself from your direct line of view and helps you sit up.

The other voice you realise had been Mike who stands by the closest wall, arms crossed over his chest and uniform jacket discarded so you could clearly see the way his chest tightened against his shirt with every breath he drew in. His head is cast downwards despite having addressed Hange a few moments ago, and he doesn't raise his gaze even when you sit which is distinguished by the rustling of the scratchy cot sheets. You hated it in here. You really did. 

"What happened?" You furrow your brows, voice hitching in your throat and as you attempted to clear it, a dull ache struck your ribs. Lurching forward, you clutched your middle and hissed. "Why am I hurting?" 

"That titan got a good hold on you, did some damage too. Nothing that won't heal of course, but you will be in pain for a short while." 

You narrow your eyes at Hange's words.  
"How short?" 

"Six weeks at least." She frowns. 

You heave a heavy sigh, braving through the pained wince which threatened to surface by smiling in understanding but in actuality it looked more of a grimace. You nod, pushing the sheets off of you completely and kicking your legs out from underneath them so the material was in no way irritating you. 

"Gained some hefty marks as well." She adds, and finally Mike lifts his head to look upon you. You however do not notice, too preoccupied in shamelessly lifting the ends of your shirt and creening your head over to inspect the bruising which now marred your skin and yeah, Hange hadn't been lying. The flesh which encases your ribs is swollen and purple, splattered with shades of black, blue and red which taper off into ugly colours of greens and yellows. You scowl, but nevertheless press gingerly over the area, withdrawing your hand as soon as you had done because 'fuck, yeah, that hurts'. 

You drop your shirt soon after, being able to still partly see the bruising behind the material but not really caring as you shrugged away the looks of sympathy the two Scouts present with you seemed to briefly wear. 

"No worries. A minor set back." You're suddenly aware of the eerie silence which stains what would otherwise be the lively and loud barracks. "Where is everyone?" 

"Home. Erwin ordered for a break within Survey Corps activities. Only a few people remain." Hange replies, standing from her position at your side and readjusting the goggles perched upon her head. 

"Who?" 

"Us. The Commander and the Lance Corporal as well as Eren and a few others from the 104th." Mike answers on Hange's behalf, pushing himself off of the medic room wall and walking further closer to you. 

"They're down in the mess hall discussing the female titan and who the potential traitor may be."

"How long did you say my ribs would take to heal Hange?" You're slowly shifting round, feet swung over the side of the bed where you begin to pull your boots on as casually as you could make it. 

"Six weeks." 

"They're healed now." You're standing to your feet and although there's a dull persistent ache which thrums and throbs, you do your best to ignore it because you need the two present in the room with you right now to believe you're not in any pain. 

Mike scoffs.  
"You can't just decide when you're all better kid."

"Oh yeah? Watch me. We all know that Erwin isn't going to let me help with this if he knows I'm not in good shape and that's why he isn't going to find out." You're beginning to move for the door, having every intention to race your way down to the mess hall where all the others were gathered. 

What you fail to realise though was that Hange and Mike were there for a purpose. Levi himself had already taken precaution when it came to you being stubborn and no doubt wanting a part of the meeting going on as of current, and that was why he had personally asked for the two to be there when you woke up. They were there as a preventive measure. 

"He isn't going to find out? The bruising is visible through your clothing, how will he not notice that?" Mike's mocking your common sense now, but you have to admit, he does have a point. That didn't mean you were going to admit that straight out though, you had too much pride to even consider doing that.

You shrug once more, obnoxiously ignorant in your actions and that gesture alone had Mike's blood boiling because to him, you clearly weren't thinking with you head. However, that was what you wanted him to believe. Now of course, you weren't aware of Levi taking these preventive measures, but you were indeed smart enough to realise that both Hange and Mike were there to stop you from doing something. Getting under Mike's skin was all a part of your plan in helping you escape and get to that mess hall.

"It'll work out." 

His face flushes red, and finally you get what you want the minute he begins to storm his way over to you. Hange remains to the side, watching closely and doesn't exactly have enough time to warn Mike of your outstretched foot which collides against his ankles. He stumbles but doesn't fall, and yet that's all you truly need to set things into motion. He bows at the waist trying to catch himself and with him so low, you reach forward and grip for his hand, squeezing it tightly and locking your hold on his to swing him unceremoniously into the adjacent wall. Balance already knocked, he's no time to catch himself this time. He slumps, groaning and you turn to see that Hange's already guarding the door.

You're desperate though, and had already predicted her every move for you to not consider an alternative route. The window above the cot you were previously resting upon is open and allowing cool air to billow in, it is also the perfect size for you to fit through. Hange follows your gaze from where she stands in the doorway.

"You wouldn't..." 

"I would and I'm going to. Sorry Hange, but I'm not being left out on this matter." 

She lunges for you just as Mike stands back onto his feet, but you're faster and more agile. One leg is jammed through the window opening and your other follows closely after until you're free falling from the second floor. The wind rushes past you in a flurry and flutters your untucked dress shirt, kissing at exposed skin as you closed your eyes and broke your fall against the damp grass into a tuck and roll. 

"Fuck," you wheeze, laying there for a moment or two as you catch your breath, staring up at the same window you had just leapt from and being able to see both Mike and Hange staring down at you in both shock and amazement. "That hurt like a bitch." They're suddenly peeling away from the glass, and you know they're in pursuit of you now as the race begins for who can get to the mess hall first.

You amble to your feet, tensing momentarily before beginning to sprint in the direction of the mess hall. You can hear the sound of your boots clicking against the floor, corridors seeming to stretch on and on as you entered through the main double doors and took your first right in the direction of the mess hall. Another two sets of footsteps begin to gradually grow closer and closer and it isn't long until Mike's sliding in front of you, so close yet so far as his back is to the mess hall doors and you're facing his chest. 

It's right there! If only you could- 

"Don't even think about it." He's growling low in warning, and in retaliation you cock your head to the side and smirk because you were damn near determined to do whatever it took. You weren't being left out of the loop this time. No way.

"Oh. I'm thinking about it." 

And that's the last thing that is said on the matter...of course before the bottom of your foot is sent colliding against his chest and the Bloodhound is sent spiralling backwards, his weight alone pushing the mess hall doors open which reveals you standing there. Victorious. 

Hange is a few feet behind you, gaping in astonishment at your bravery to do such a thing and she nearly drops all together with a disbelieving laugh when she watches you simply pass over Mike's fallen frame as if nothing had ever happened in the first place.  
Your ribs are hurting like a bitch again once more and breathing proves itself to be an exceptionally hard task. You've exerted yourself. Obviously. But you can't let that show here.

You stand tall under the many stares, glaring Erwin directly down who had stood from his seat to address you. 

"Leave." 

"No." 

The few Scouts of the 104th look nervous, worried for you if anything because you had disobeyed the Commanders orders like they were nothing. Erwin's brows pinch together in annoyance, he knows you're standing your ground on this matter, but he tries his luck anyway. 

"I'm not asking you. It's an order. You're in no condition to be out and walking." 

You're shameless in raising your shirt to expose just the expanse of your ribs and the marring bruises, ignoring the sympathetic hisses which slip Armin and Jean to instead maintain your levelled stare with your brother. 

"I've had worse than this and you know it. You can't protect me on this Erwin, you knew that much when you dragged me back in." 

He tenses his jaw then and you know it's because you've got him beat. 

"Erwin...she threw Mike into a wall, kicked him through a door and jumped out a window. If that isn't dedication to the cause then I don't know what else is." Hange strangely enough seems to have a change of heart, walking in to stand beside you and sling an arm around the back of your neck. "A few measly bruises isn't going to be enough to stop her. She is your sister after all." Both you and Erwin snap your head towards her. "Oops? Was I not meant to say that?" 

The Commander finally seats himself once more, apparently done with the argument after having his resolve cracked. He motions for you to seat yourself and with a triumphant smirk, you do so. Levi does not look impressed as you ease yourself into the seat beside him, but you're hardly bothered. Instead, you look straight towards Eren who looks beyond stunned.

"Spit it out Braveheart." You instruct.

"You're his sister? You're related to the Commander?" 

"You don't believe what Hange said?" 

Eren shakes his head. Even Armin and Jean look a bit stumped but Mikasa's calm expression tells you she's had you all figured out for awhile now. 

"If I wasn't related to him, I wouldn't have had the guts to say no to his face. That isn't me abusing privileges, that's just me being a brat."

"Damn straight it is." Both Levi and Mike try to smother the statement which they murmur out in sync. You hear them anyway, and glare each man down. 

"Back to the matter at hand!" The Commander demands for attention and he receives it in an instant, all eyes being dragged towards the map spread out across the table. 

You double take at the sight of the map though because you recognise each and every path drawn and noted. Stohess was a district you had frequently visited during your travels and by your face alone, Erwin can tell you know something. 

"Is everything alright?" 

"Yeah. I've been here before. It's Stohess, right?" 

The Commander nods.

"If you know about this area well, it would make sense to assign you to lead this particular assignment."

You arch a brow.  
"Which is what?" 

"We're going to bait out the female titan."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3  
Apologies for any errors made~  
This chapter was rather lighthearted, I hope you all enjoyed it.


	16. Attack On Stohess.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie Leonhart is the female titan.

It's certainly strange to be back in Stohess. It brings back what would be memories of your past travels what would be fond if there wasn't an overhanging threat of the female titan appearing at any given moment. Erwin's plan is a tricky one, but with you, an experienced Scout assigned so closely to Eren and his two friends, the stress and anxiety was lessened. Even if only by the smallest shred. 

You're already down within the tunnels where they plan to lure the female titan, awaiting the first signs of either Eren, Mikasa or Armin who you would then attach yourself to at the first chance possible. The presumed shifter was a dangerous one, and therefore you couldn't be any more careful than what you already were when it came to your actions around them. Above all else, you were strictly ordered to not been seen by the shifter, for if you were, she would become suspicious which would potentially trigger her shifting. Erwin's main aim was to avoid that happening at all cost but if a shift seemed imminent, this caution of remaining unseen could be thrown to the wind. 

It's Armin who you notice first, and then your gaze drags over Eren and Mikasa who stand by his side. The shifted stands at the top of the stairs which lead to the tunnel, reluctant to enter and it's making the gears in your head spin as to 'why?' 

"No. I'm not going that way. It scares me. If we don't travel above ground, I won't help." 

The sound of their footsteps halts, alerting you of their ceased descent. 

"What are you doing? Get down here already and stop screwing around!" That's Eren's voice you hear, slightly panicked and raised which had you automatically tensing. The air was becoming thick, suffocating almost, like it was forewarning you of something bad which would soon come to pass. 

Mikasa scolds him, but that's not what has you gritting your teeth in anticipation.

"It's okay Mikasa, right? For some reason, there haven't been any people nearby for a while now." 

You're itching to reach forward from around the corner you hide behind and yank the three back with you into safety, but you know that your time to reveal yourself isn't yet here.

"Jeez! I'm hurt. When did you start looking at me with those eyes, Armin?"

"Annie, why?" Finally, Armin's voice joins the mix. "Why did you have Marco's 3D Manoeuvre Gear? I recognised even its tiniest marks and dints because we repaired ours together. That's how I knew." 

"I see...well I happened to pick it up." 

"Then you killed those two titans we captured alive?" 

You had heard of them. Hange had been beyond ecstatic apparently when they had successfully captured both Sawney and Bean, but she had also been beyond livid upon finding them dead a few days later.  
The drivel the shifter spouts leaves you growing irritated, the conversation being drowned out until the moment you hear a sickening giggle pierce through the tense silence. 

"Armin, I'm glad I could be a good person for you. You've won your bet, but this is where my gamble begins!" 

The flare which Armin had been supplied with suddenly explodes upwards and in a flash, you've snapped forward and reached for the first frame you could. Your finger latches into the back of Armin's collar and you're using it as leverage to yank him backwards, watching from the corner of your eye as Mikasa does the exact same with Eren after noticing something extremely vital on Annie. As quickly as you could, you hone your sight in on the blonde traitor and are shocked to find a thorn sticking out of the ring upon her finger which she carelessly strikes. 

Blood is drawn. A spark shatters across the sky. Steam floods the area. 

You waste no time in ordering the three to follow you, navigating your way through the complicated system of the tunnels with no proper struggle because you knew this place like the back of your hand. Speaking of hands, the female titan reaches in, fingertips barely brushing the back of Eren which causes him to speed his pace in running. She feels around, grips against the walls of the tunnels and leaves them crumbling before withdrawing her limb once more.

"What do we do now?" Mikasa questions, looking to you from Armin.

"We rendezvous with Team 3." Armin begins to explain just before you take over.

"After that, according to the backup plan, fight Annie...the female-form titan. Eren, you'll have to transform and assist with her capture. That okay?" 

Eren barely has time to reply, breathing out a tired 'yeah' before the members of Team 3 are racing into view. Neither you nor Armin are able to relay the orders to move onto the next step because by the time you're opening your mouth to speak, a violent vibrations shakes the floor and to all four of your horror, you helplessly watch the way the female titans foot crashes down through the tunnel ceiling and crushes the Scout members of Team 3 along with it. 

"We have to help them!" 

"They're dead!" You bark back heartlessly, dragging the titan shifter back to keep him directly out of line of fire from the female titan's attack.

"That bitch would kill Eren?" 

Armin shakes his head, grabbing both yours and Mikasa's attention all the while Eren continued to stare off into the space the female titan had just kicked through.  
"She risked it. She smashed open the tunnel hoping she wouldn't kill you. It's crazy, but that just makes her more scarier!" 

There's little options you have left now and it seems all four of you are aware of that as you crouched down low, weighing up what little chances you had left of escaping the tunnel which was supposed to work out in your favour but had in fact done the exact opposite. 

"The exit is blocked. We can't use our ODM gear to get to the surface, that way we would essentially be handing ourselves over for an ambush." You're beyond irritated, feeling so useless in a situation like this when you were meant to be the most experienced Scout out of them all who was capable of thinking quick on her feet. 

"I'll handle it!" Eren's all of a sudden up on his feet, drawing the three of you in close and staring down hesitantly at the flesh of his hand before placing it between his jaw and biting down as physically hard as he could. You can hear the breaking of skin, and can see the abrupt flow of blood, but nothing happens, and all that Eren can do is deflate in defeat against the tunnel floor. "Why now!?" 

"Maybe you just need to concentrate on one specific reason?" Armin has a sweet way of sugar coating the reason why, but Mikasa is on the other hand lethal. She speaks what both you and Armin already know and what Eren refuses to accept and believe.

"Eren." She leans in closer, eyes looking a certain way which even has you shuddering in fear and turning around. "Don't tell me that you still refuse to accept that she's the female-form titan? What just happened right before your eyes? That bitch just killed your comrades! You still refuse to accept that?"

"Shut up!" He growls in reply. "You're not helping!" Eren bites again, but still, there is no effect. 

Regardless, Mikasa is stubborn in her words.  
"Annie is the female-form titan. So, why aren't you fighting? Are other feelings holding you back?" 

A beat or two passes, and all Eren can do is tremble beneath the stares of you and his two closest friends. The moment is shattered all too soon though when Armin finally offers a new preposition.

"I've got a plan! We will split up and exit that hole and the entrance at the same time. Annie will have to follow one of us and that should buy you time to run away." 

You and Mikasa both stand, tugging on your green cloaks and pulling the hoods up to conceal your faces. It's without discussion that you will go with Mikasa, the decision drawn to by both you and her with a solid, mutual, understanding nod. 

"Wait! If you do that, that means one of you will die!" 

"Braveheart." Your nickname for him has Eren snapping to full attention. "If we stay here, all four of us will die. It's times like these you've got to move like a soldier."

You split instantaneously, you and Mikasa running one way whilst Armin runs the other. Your blades are drawn, and you're fully prepared to run head first into the battle but Eren's pained words which he screams out persistently rattle and echo about inside your head.

"How are you able to fight!? How!?" 

Mikasa freezes just before the entrance, glancing over her shoulder back at her distraught friend.  
"We have no choice. It's a cruel world out there." 

Everything seems to happen all at once in this one specific given moment. The female titan's foot crashes downwards once more at the same given point you and Mikasa break forth into the open air and accompanied with that action is Armin's panicked scream.

"Eren!" 

The blonde drops, instantly forgetting the earlier plan to instead backtrack to where Eren was buried with every intention to dig him out of every piece of rubble there was.  
Annie for a moment takes more interest in Mikasa, no doubt mistaking her for Eren with her hood up and as you two smartly split up the first chance you get, the female titan makes a full move to grasp for the Ackerman. She succeeds. Like expected however, the Scout emerges from the titan's grasp without much issue, fingers completely severed as Mikasa's form came back into view. 

"I won't let you have Eren!" She snaps, twisting down Annie's outstretched arm and slicing into every piece of flesh with her blades which she passed. 

You shriek. "Mikasa!" Watching Annie slam her fist into a nearby houses roof, the debris and rubble flings itself everywhere and anywhere, leaving the younger Scout hardly any time to dodge before a rather large piece hits her and she's dropping down harshly against the floor. "Shit!" 

Your body is shoved upwards into the air, and for a brief, passing second you can see all the members of the military police stationed atop of the houses who stand and stare in shock and fear. Useless. Absolutely useless. Their cowardice has your blood boiling, so much so that you're reckless in your movement of bearing down upon the female titan's shoulder and left arm. You're successful in twisting your way down her limb and effectively grabbing her attention. 

"What a lovely wolf in sheep's clothing you are Annie." Your tone is sickly sweet, but that is in great contrast to the blazing heat which burns deeply within the depths of your eyes and the veins which run just below the surface of your skin. "Did you enjoy killing all those people Annie? Did you enjoy leading people on and making friends out of them? Only to callously murder them? Was it fun ANNIE!?" 

She swings, too fast for you to comprehend and her arm sends you flying into the nearest building wall, back slamming harshly against the stone and drawing a winded groan from you before you, just like Mikasa had done, ultimately drop. 

"Annie!" Armin skids into view, chest heaving uncontrollably as he stared the female titan down. "If you don't kill me now, next time you won't have time to place your bet!" 

Jean swings in then, a battle cry falling from his lips as he slams his blades down against her only to have them break and shatter upon the impact of her crystallised flesh.

"Armin! This way!" 

"Roger that!" 

Like a fool, the female titan takes the bait and Hange's many traps set up were expected to be efficient enough in keeping her down as they're set off and the titan is sent colliding against the floor. Hange holds a blade menacingly against the female titan's eyeball. 

"Be a good girl for me, will you? You can't summon other titans to eat you this time either. But don't worry...I'm going to devour you instead. I'll make sure to digest every bit of Intel I get from you." 

Naive. Too naive they were in thinking that that would hold her. With no issue at all, Annie kicks her leg out and swipes all holding restraints away, ambling back onto her feet and resuming her pursuit as if nothing had truly happened. 

When you next come to, your lay upon a pile of debris which pokes and digs. Your ribs are hurting with a new found vengeance which makes breathing extremely hard and newly accompanying this was a marvellous gash to your forehead as well as a stinging pain in your back which demanded to be known. All you can do right now is lie, staring up at the sky and a bird which flew across it and not being able to help but feel envious. 

That bird could go anywhere. See anything and everything and never have to worry about being brutally murdered by being eaten. So it's to be expected, that when a yellow spark ignites and terrifies the creature, you find some sick satisfaction in the matter. 

An angered roar shakes the entire district and it's that what gives you the motivation to stand once more, ODM gear shifting at your waist before you're shooting yourself across the city scape and finding yourself stood beside Hange. The two of you just stand and stare, lost in the way Eren's titan throws his first landing punch against Annie's titan and before you can stop yourself, you find yourself smirking.

"Give her hell Braveheart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading <3
> 
> In other news, I HATE this chapter. I hated writing it and I still hate it now, I feel like it isn't as good in comparison to my other chapters. I just got so sick of rewriting it that I decided it clearly wasn't going to get any better.  
Please forgive the fact that this certain upload isn't as good.
> 
> Per usual, I'm sorry for any errors made.


	17. Breathe.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Attack on Stohess comes to a close.

"Erwin! Is this the result of your doing?!" 

"It is. I acted entirely on my own authority. I offer no excuses." 

Nile reaches forward, and fears nothing as he grips the front of the Scout Commander's cloak and uses it to pull him closer, a seething snarl falling from the brunette's lips as he fixes Erwin with a scathing look. The Smith however is unperturbed, stubbornly staring forward even in the face of the Military Police Brigades anger and the many guns cocked his way.

"You had to have known what your plan would've caused in the middle of the city! Why? Why did you do it!?" 

"For Mankind's...victory." 

"Don't give me that crap! You're a traitor! None of the higher-ups would complain if I were to execute you now!" Nile releases Erwin's cloak, stepping backwards to brandish his gun once more which he raised in warning to remain level with Erwin's head. Still though, the blonde doesn't seem to care and even the Lance Corporal looks upon the scene with bored, hard, calculating eyes. 

"Fine by me," Erwin's words are more accepting than what they are dismissive. "However, you'll need to assume command." Nile finally falters. "The female-form titan must not escape. Paehl's in charge of formations and Vyler oversees supplies. Coordinate with them, and push her to the eastern Wall at all costs."

An explosion sounds nearby, flames erupt and it causes all men within its radius to duck in protection, hands pulling their heads down low as they winced against the heat which licked tentatively at their skin and heated up the very uniform on their backs. From the embers a shadowed frame emerges, blades brandished at either of their sides as the wires from the ODM gear sent them twisting through the air and landing directly in front of the Scout Regiment's Commander. 

You smell like smoke and ash, that much is to be expected, the ends of your hair and jacket are singed to which you promptly discard the leather material without a further fuss. 

"Is that-?"

"There's no way. Rumour went around that she died. That's why Zacharias replaced her as Humanities second." 

There's gossiping whispers from the Brigade Police who are gathered around and behind Nile, their words evoking a scoff not only from your lips, but Levi's too as he folded his arms across his chest and turned to face away from you and Erwin but still glanced over his shoulder.  
Nile looks down his nose at you, nostrils flaring in annoyance as you so rudely cut between the confrontation he and your brother were in the middle of having. 

Erwin's got something extra to add to his previous spiel.  
"And another thing, Smith here is running the entire ordeal. What she says? Goes." 

Nile's face scrunches with frustration, teeth grit and jaw clenched as he gripped his hand tigther around the handle of his cocked gun which was still focused upon the Commander who you now stood in front of. You say nothing. Instead, you sheath one blade and with the newly emptied hand, you place your palm against the opening of Nile's weapon, daring him to take the very shot you knew he didn't have in him. His lips draw back into a snarl.

"Don't get brave soldier, don't think I won't-"

You manage to cut him off, your other blade raised in a flash against the underneath of his chin and pressing against the flesh of his throat. You push forward, placing the smallest of slices against his skin to show that your actions weren't an empty warning. 

"Don't underestimate me Commander Nile. Unlike you, I can and will follow through with the warnings I put forth." You turn, blade still held against the man's throat as you spoke to your Commander.  
"She's moved to open ground. The Omni-directional mobility gear is useless." 

"And Eren?" 

"He's followed her. Obviously, but Commander," you pause, not knowing exactly how to say what you needed to say. "He's gone beyond consciousness. We're not sure how we're going to pull back from this one if we can't bring him to reality." 

Erwin looks to Levi, and that's all the Lance Corporal needs before he's walking off. Meanwhile, both you and Erwin then turn towards Nile who now falters in his moves, fearful of the weapon you held against him. You're both waiting for him to speak, and after a pregnant pause, he finally does so.

"Are you serious in saying...this will be to Mankind's advantage?"

"I believe it's the next step for us." 

He finally lowers his gun and orders his men to do the same, your blade however still remains, although lowering slowly bit by bit. 

"Cuff him. Deploy all our men, your priority is the rescue and evacuation of civilians." There's the clicking of handcuffs nearby. "Erwin, your punishment will be decided in court." 

You grit your teeth and fling the blade back up to it's original position, caring very little for the spooked expression which filled Nile's face as he jerked back from the sudden movement. You oppose the motion to cuff your brother, that much was to be expected but you can't help but relinquish your weapon the second Erwin's hand dropped upon your shoulder, gently pulling you back beside him with a levelling gaze which told you to stand down. Nile can finally relax. 

"After this is finished, I'll gladly stand trial." 

A tremor rattles the city of Stohess and it's followed closely by a feral, animalistic roar which has those unfamiliar to the sounds of a titan standing on edge. You and Erwin move towards the edge of the bridge with the other Police members following closely, witnessing the way Eren's titan form fought roughly with Annie's. It seems like he is set up to win, until the very moment her foot is slamming outwards and sending Eren flying back. The female titan is quick on her feet, fingers crystallised and helping her latch onto the Wall as she took the jump upwards.

"She intends to climb it!?" You're bending low at your knees, having every intention to interfere and stop her from attempting to get away. 

"Wait. Not yet." Erwin's quick to stop you.

You scowl.  
"Why the fuck not?" 

Eren jumps up, and manages to latch onto her leg, but that's all as she sends him clattering down as quick as he had jumped up. You spy Mikasa's form flying in, and that's the final straw for you. Discarding a dismissive glance over your shoulder at your brother, you lunge from the bridge and shoot your hooks into the wall, yanking your body over towards the female titan and scaling the height with no issue at all. You and Mikasa, per usual, share one mutual, understanding nod before she's slicing clean through the fingers on Annie's right hand as you similarly plunge your blade against and across Annie's left hand. It all seems to happen in slow motion, and Mikasa is brave enough to lower herself to stand upon the space between the female titan's eyes. 

"Annie...fall."

Eren's on her in an instant the second she does, his moves uncoordinated and his amount of strength unaccounted for as a single punch sends his ripped arm flying off and clutching the very bridge the Commander stood upon. The female titan's head is severed from her neck, and the sight of it all causes a shudder of disgust to crawl it's way up your back as you and Mikasa both landed down at the bottom of the wall. He leans down low, and you can pin point the exact moment your heart leaps into your throat. 

"There's no way-" 

"He'll eat the girl inside too!"

"Eren, don't!" 

The flesh at the back of her neck is tore clean off, and although Annie's frame still remains within the titan's nape, Eren freezes for reasons which neither you nor any of the others know why. You inhale a heavy, throbbing breath and before you're even able to exhale, a sudden wave of steam floods the area. The soles of your boots scrape against the ground as your pushed back from the sheer power of it all, watching helplessly in stunned surprise as a crystallised casing began to grow around Annie all the while the two titan's forms appeared to be...fusing together? 

"Eren!" Mikasa moves to pounce forward, but there's already a figure swinging in, nape sliced and Eren's body revealed before anybody could even comprehend it all. 

"Don't go eating our only witness, you idiot."

Your breath finally slips you, more of an alleviated sigh than anything else as the sight of Levi left you thankful. Mikasa rushes to him in a flurry, Armin quick too in racing over as they each seat themselves beside their friend. The carcasses of the titan's forms are quick to fade into nothing, leaving behind nothing more than a cloud of gathered steam which filtered upwards and an enormous amount of death and destruction. You inspect the Lance Corporal's every move, from the way he spares Eren one last glance before turning to Erwin and walking straight towards him, the limp in his walk barely noticeable but you knew it was there. 

Orders are finally given once more at that point, and for a while you're at a loss of what to do as Erwin is finally taken into custody like Nile had promised. That mere fact alone has your blood boiling, but you knew there was nothing more you could really do now. Erwin had stopped you earlier when he had done for a reason, and you were understanding enough to respect his choice. Even if it was a dumbass one. 

Adrenaline running low, you hiss at the pulsing throbs which had now returned once more. You lift the end of your shirt, inspecting the marring bruises which stained their way across the expanse of your skin, you grimace, being able to spy the formation of a few new ones which would surely leave you aching and tense in the following morning to come. 

"Have some modesty will you?" Levi's all of a sudden gripping at your shirt and yanking it down, pulling you in close to utter his orders to you and only you. "With me Smith." 

You shrink back because your first assumption is that the minute he gets you alone, he's going to promptly tear you a new one on an issue you more than likely weren't even aware of yet. You shake you head, attempting to remove his grip on the material of your shirt.  
"I don't want to fight Levi. I'm too tired to." 

You miss the way his eyes soften, instead noticing the way he removed his grip on your shirt only to relocate it below the knot of your tie, using the item of clothing essentially as a leash to drag you along beside him. Your face flushes red and although you're beyond embarrassed and angered, your protests are weak, too tired to put up any form of a proper fight as the Lance Corporal dragged you along. 

"Shut up. Annoying runt. We're going to get you looked at." 

You stumble at his side, and once he realises you possess no intention to run away, he finally release his hold on you. The walk to the Military Brigade Police's base where most soldiers would be stationed during the time here within Stohess is a short one, but it seems to drag on forever as Levi is your only company. 

He shoves you into the room next door to where Eren rests with Mikasa, Armin and Jean watching over him. You drop yourself unceremoniously atop of the bed, legs swung over the side still as you closely scrutinised every little thing Levi moved to do.

"I don't want no medic." You rush to say just as Levi looks like he's about to leave but the Lance Corporal does nothing of the sort. He instead closes the door, green cloak and black jacket discarded over the back of a sofa as he all the while rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to the bends of his elbows.

"I'm not going to get you no goddamn medic. Relax." 

'Easier said than done' you think to yourself, realising that the last time you had been alone with Levi had been when you were beyond furious with him after finding out all about the Underground and his past plots to kill your brother. You're suddenly struggling to swallow over the massive lump which had formed in your throat, chest rattling with uneven breaths as your ribs throbbed and ached mercilessly. You do your best in attempting to ease the way your muscles feel all so wound up and tight, but it just makes you all that more aware of the fact that you were alone right now with Lance Corporal Levi.

He reaches into a nearby cupboard, pulling out rolls of gauze, a roll of thread with a needle pushed into it alongside a pile of washcloths. You wince back as he sets all of the equipment beside you and stops to scan you over. 

"Did you fight the female titan or a fucking building?" 

He's commenting on the dust and debris caught on your hair and uniform, and even though you know he's dead serious, you can't help the awkward laugh which bursts from your lips, cracking through the tension which layered the room and shockingly taking Levi by surprise as he jerked backwards. 

"Sorry. Sorry. I shouldn't laugh." 

He 'tsks' but that's all, clasping your chin between his thumb and forefinger he arched your head backwards to inspect the heavy gash which stretched itself from the middle of your forehead to your hairline. 

Levi sighs, pulling his hand back to yank a nearby bowl into his hands and stalk off into the connected room where he filled it with water. Returning, he soaks a washcloth in the water and wrings it out before placing it against the skin surrounding the gash. You're dumbfounded at what you're experiencing right now, scared that if you breathed too heavily or spoke that the scene before you would crack and fizzle into nothing. But no, this was really happening right now and you...well you simply just couldn't believe it. 

Lance Corporal Levi cleans away the staining blood from your face so gingerly that it feels like his touch is barely there, fingertips shyly brushing across your skin every now and then and everytime you felt it occur, your heart would leap against your chest. Your mind catches up with your heart however all too soon, flustered, you frantically reach for the washcloth in your superiors hold.

"I-I can do it! It's okay, I can-" 

"Quit it!" 

Levi bats your hands away, forcing you to remain still as he finally removed the dyed red washcloth and placed it within the water filled bowl, slowly turning the liquid within it red too. He grabs for the needle and thread next, and your breath catches because despite all the injures you had recieved in the past, you were deathly afraid of receiving stitches. It was a fear you found you could never get over and you didn't exactly know why.

"Still scared of stitches?" He arches a brow, threading the thread through the eye of the needle meanwhile you were running through all potential escape routes you could conjure up within your mind.

Stubbornly, you turn your head to the side, refusing to meet the Ackerman's searing stare.  
"No. I don't know what you're talking about." 

He scoffs, but doesn't reply. Levi can see straight through you and you yourself know he can, but that doesn't mean you're going to drop the act anytime soon. With a finger against your jawline, he pushes on it to turn your head back around, needle poised and ready now which had you shutting your eyes closed tightly in anticipation. The cool pressing of the needle against your skin has you looking for any form of a distraction you can get and so to dispel your own nerves, you decide to speak.

"Levi I'm sorry."

"For what?" He begins the first stitch, you try your best not to flinch away from the procedure. 

"For getting mad at you like that when I did. I assumed and that was wrong of me to do so. I guess-" you draw in a sharp breath at a particularly tender spot, hands fisting into the sheets of the bed you sat upon. "I guess I was just scared at the possibility of me never really having known you...or Isabelle...or Furlan. I didn't want to believe or even think that the people who I got to know and cherish all those years ago weren't actually being who they truly were." You pause for a second to gather and articulate your next few words carefully. "I didn't want to be lied to."

"You think that's what we did? That we lied to you?" You nod, Levi tugs rather hard at the thread and you flinch. "Sorry." He apologises instantly after ordering you to not move. "We may have plotted to kill your brother but we never thought of using you to get to him. We were from the Underground but we weren't heathens, fucksake give us a little credit." 

He ties off the thread finally, snapping off the connecting piece and looking over his handy piece of work before reaching lastly for the roll of gauze and wrapping it around your head to securely hold and protect the stitches. Levi steps forward and pushes his way to stand between your two legs, knotting and tucking the bow beneath a layer of the gauze after having wrapped it a few solid times. You nod in acknowledgment at his words then and only then, a distant look in your eye which vanished the second Levi turned to walk away from you. 

You don't know what possesses you to do it, or why you do it, but you reach out anyway to grab desperately onto Levi's white dress shirt, hands fisting tightly against the material as you tugged him back against you once more. He's close enough now for you to press your face against his stomach, and in all honesty you're rather shocked at the fact the Lance Corporal hadn't already yanked himself free. If anything, he seemed strangely calm in the given moment, still in your hold as your breath fanned through the material of his shirt and warmed his skin beneath. 

"Erwin will be okay on trial...won't he?" Your words are muffled and the vibrations from your voice travel across his skin in a way which has goosebumps raking up his body. 

"Of course he will. It's Erwin we're talking about here. That bastard could get away with nearly anything." His answer is reassuring, and even if it wasn't, his hands coming to rest against the back of your nape certainly is. 

"Did we win this one Levi? Can we call this a victory for Mankind?" 

Levi sighs because he truly doesn't know how to answer that one in a way that you will like. His tone is soft, tired, almost as if he too wished to resign himself for the day.

"I don't know brat...I really don't know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's season 1 covered!!!  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter~  
Once more, I apologise for any errors made.


	18. Cruelty Is A Cold Mistress.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A celebration of some sort is in order for the successful capture of the female titan, despite the lack of evidence pried from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story won't be following the strict canon story of the anime nor the manga since I want to add my own little scenes and such (obviously). So the storyline won't be exact. I just thought I'd bring that to light now.

Night falls, the waning moon peaks slyly through the heavy, rain burdened clouds which fill the inky sky. Despite the blood shed, inflicted chaos and many lives lost, the morale of those gathered within the wall who had witnessed the intense showdown (and had lived to tell the tale) was high. Streets had been cleaned after a gruelling amount of time dedicated to the matter and now that all assigned tasks had been completed it meant the celebration could begin. 

Whiskey and ale was sloshed around, steps staggered and uneven as both Scouts and Military Brigade Police gathered around the lit bonfire in the heart of the courtyard to drink away their blues, masking the bitterness of another failure with enough alcohol to numb them into thinking that it was instead a success.

That didn't change the fact that no further steps were made in advancement to Mankind's victory. 

The mere thought of the entire ordeal alone had left you beyond frustrated, hands grasping helplessly around the threadbare sheets of the cot you lay in, darkness swallowing the room, which Levi had left you to rest in, whole. Through the window above where you lay, the sound of merry, drunken laughter and off-pitched singing could be heard, filtering through the heavy atmosphere and almost covering up the destruction and havoc caused only a few hours previous.

Almost. 

Unlike the others outside in the courtyard, you refused to swallow down and ignore the failure so willingly. If anything, it left an ugly feeling to simmer low within the depths of your stomach, rooting it's way deep within the blood which ran through your veins and rattled your bones. 

You pressed your forearm across your eyes, doing your best to muffle the tired sigh which slipped your lips regardless. The clicking of a doorknob being rattled sounded outside and was the only fore-warning you got before the door swung open and Hange traipsed inside. Hair more ruffled and messy than usual, almost like she had pulled and yanked at it in obvious irritation. Her goggle-like glasses for once were pulled around her neck and resting atop of her collarbones, shifting with every bounce of a step she took. The Squad Leader took a seat at the end of the cot you lay on, arm shifting back to cover your eyes so Hange had no chance of being able to detect nor see the emotions swimming within them.

Clear as day.

"Everybody else is out celebrating, even Eren after some convincing from Jean and Armin. I thought you'd want to join instead of being holed up in here." She moves to pull at your arm, but the first touch of her skin on yours has you grunting in warning, making Hange recoil instantly with a firm frown.

"I'm not interested. Go on without me." 

"It's not good to keep yourself up in here." She pressed on, trying her luck anyway even in light of your half hearted warning. "You should be outside with everybody else, enjoying the moment whilst you can." 

You snap forward, arm torn away from your eyes and leaving Hange momentarily enraptured by the many emotions which swirled so evidently within the pools of your eyes. "Why would I celebrate something which we have so clearly lost? No doubt our numbers took a hit once more and yeah sure, we've got Leonhart captured but she got the last laugh didn't she? Can't get any evidence out of a pretty rock now, can we?" 

You've got Hange beat there, and you both know it. She worries her bottom lip between her teeth before standing and stretching out her back, hands planted solidly on her hips as she gives you a brief look over, gaze lingering a second longer on the stitches which stood out against your skin before turning back towards the same door she'd entered from. She gives your words no definite reply, just hovers a bit too long within the doorway before casting a look over her shoulder your way.

"You're welcome to join us regardless. I'm sure Ackerman would like to see that you're okay." 

The door closes behind her after that, and you're left wondering over her words and which Ackerman she had been referring to. Screw Hange and her imprecise ways. It's hardly a couple of minutes later that you're tearing away the sheets from your body, legs swung over the side of the cot and reaching to tug on the standard brown boots of your Scout's uniform. You decide to forego your jacket, instead rolling up the sleeves of your white dress-shirt to the bends of your elbows and loosening the tie at your neck before taming down the mess of your hair and stepping forward to yank open the door. 

All what meets you is the shrouding darkness of the corridor which stretches out long and wide. You need no light though to direct your movement, instead following the sound of the laughter and joy which grew louder and louder until the sound of your boots hitting the cobble flooring was completely consumed by it. Your inches from stepping out into open air when an arm is slung around your shoulder, body leaning heavily into your side all the while the pungent smell of alcohol rolled off of this unknown form in waves, causing your nose to scrunch in distaste. 

"You know...you're really pretty you know? Like...REALLY pretty!" 

You stretch your neck out, arching your head backwards to glimpse over the soldier who dared to act so casual with you. It's a simple cadet, one from that of the Scouts Regiment you realise because you had seen him around once or twice back at the castle base. You entertain the drunken cadet with one free pass, humming in acknowledgment and hoping that was sufficient enough of a reply for him to then take the hint and wander off elsewhere. 

He doesn't.

"Have you been told that before? I bet you have, you must get told that all the time!" 

You finally scowl against the vice grip he has on you, rolling your shoulders out in warning in hope of him dropping his arm and releasing you. His grip tightens, scarily strong for a soldier so heavily intoxicated. 

"Don't talk much d'ya? That's rather rude you know?" 

A scoff of indignation leaves you, a look of disbelief twisting your features which this idiotic cadet remained oblivious to. He steers you forwards in the direction of the roaring bonfire, ignorant to the few but powerful stares of pure rage which are worn by the selective numbers of the Scout Regiment soldiers whom you knew upon a personal level. Erwin raises his gaze a bit too late it seems, the shadows of the dancing flames flashing across his face which hardened in an instant upon setting on the sight of his younger sister being handled so roughly. He purses his lips together, and although he is second to act after Levi, neither of them make it in time. 

Your patience wears thin before theirs does. 

You reach up, and yank on the hand which hangs limp over your shoulder. Pulling his arm taut, you lean your own body forward and heave his flailing form over your own, ruthless in the way you savagely slammed his back down hard against the cobble flooring of the courtyard. He wheezes for breath, winded and groaning miserably as the bottle of whiskey toppled from his grip and he stared up at you with a look that appeared as if he felt you had betrayed him. 

Leaning over him now, the sudden shift in positions has him coiling in on himself in a protective manner, mumbling his apologies which you frankly cared very little for. Erwin's at your side now with Levi a fair distance behind, looking like he didn't care but nevertheless his gaze was glued to you. 

"Don't touch women so easily punk. If I catch you doing what you've just done with me to another woman, I can assure you I will have your head on a stake faster than you can say 'oops'. Do I make myself clear cadet!?"

He snaps to his feet, spine rigid as he slammed a fisted hand atop of his chest.

"Crystal Ma'am!" 

"Good. Now get gone brat." 

He scuttles off in a hurry, and foolishly without noticing your brother and Commander by your side, a moment of vulnerability and weakness slips you as you stagger forward and grip at your forehead which burns and throbs.

Shit.

"What are you doing out here? You should be resting." 

"I'm fine." You clip, twisting around to regard Erwin with a glare which dared him to press forward on the matter.

He did so anyway, adding gasoline to the lit fire which was you.

"When was the last time you properly slept?" He's scanning the dark rings which cling to the underneath of your eyes and the way your cheeks hollow out and your bones stick and prod. You looked sharp and rigid, a complete contrast to the way you had looked all those months back when Erwin had freshly dragged you back into the fray. Had he made a mistake? 

You shrug. 

His gaze hardens. 

"Don't avoid the question. That's an order." 

"Exerting your power over me doesn't really work Erwin, you and I both know it so don't even try. And I couldn't answer you even if I wanted to, because I don't know." 

Said man draws in a heavy breath, watching the way the shadows of the flames danced across your face and highlighted the dying passion in your eyes which had once been so fresh and eager. So innocent and naive.  
Thoughts and ideas knock around inside his mind before he comes to an ultimate decision, and he seriously doesn't know how you will come to take the news.

"I'm pulling you out of this assignment. Your assistance is no longer required." 

What? 

Your head snaps back harshly, eyes blown wide in shock and disbelief as Erwin stared you dead on, resolute in his decision and being stubborn enough no doubt to see his words through. That didn't mean you were going to roll over and show your stomach though in surrender. 

"You can't do that Erwin!"

His eyes cloud over then, and you know it's not your brother whom you're speaking with in that instant, but instead the thirteenth Commander of the Scouts Regiment. Erwin the sneaky bastard had purposely adopted this stone front to avoid you breaking through him and getting your own way.

"You were assigned as a precaution to protect Eren from the Special Ops Squad which is now out of commission as a result of the female titan's actions. Your post has been fulfilled. Your presence is no longer needed nor required amongst the Survey Corps." 

You're quick- no, more like desperate to interrupt Erwin and stop him from saying the one thing you dread him saying.

"Erwin you can't. You can't do this to me. You can't drag me back in and then push me back out all too easily. That's not," you choke over your own words, the chords within your throat tight. "That's not fair." 

It's like Erwin's looking at you, but he's not truly seeing you. His eyes are distant, and helplessly all you can do now is look to Levi who had slowly made his way over to stand beside his Commander. Your pleading with your eyes alone, lips trembling as you beg Erwin to not cast you out all too soon. Either he listens but doesn't hear you or he completely ignores you all together. 

"You're dismissed from your post Scout Smith." 

"Levi please! Talk some sense into him. Don't let him do this me. You can't...he can't..." 

All the Lance Corporal could do though is stare at you with sympathetic eyes, unaware to the way bile pushed up the back of your throat and you were forced to swallow down the thick lump which had formed within those tightly wrung chords. Your hands trembled, the heat from the nearby bonfire doing nothing to ward of the chilling cold which battered your wiry, shaking form. 

"You're dismissed." Is all Levi can say in aid of his Commander, but his voice trembles slightly at the start of his words for you to really believe that he wanted to say what he had done. 

Your clueless as to what to do. Looking at Erwin and Levi with eyes brimming with tears which you refused to shed as your mind raced a dozen a minute. The Scouts was all you truly well knew. You had returned when you did because travelling and studying offered no more than what you already had and with the titans already so close now, travelling was something out of the question anyway. What were you to do? Where were you to go? 

"Don't," you're gasping over your words now, tongue like lead as it curled and jerked around each syllable. "Don't do this to me." 

Levi's eyes are a raging blizzard set in stone and Erwin's too much of a coward to even look at you now, instead peering past you at the bonfire which raged and crackled on, a great contrast to the fire inside of you which had now been put out and smothered into nothing more than cinders and ash. 

Despair. 

"You're free to go." Levi's words are cruel and strike deep, leaving you feeling exposed and raw under the close scrutiny of his unwavering gaze. 

Cruel. Always so cruel.

"So heartless Levi." You've no energy to raise your voice above a murmur, but the Lance Corporal could hear you just fine. He snaps backwards, almost as if physically stung by the words you spoke. 

He furrows his brows and opens his mouth to speak but says nothing. Silent as he pursed his lips and tried to will away the stabbing sensation which pricked and burned at his very beating heart.

"How could you be so heartless?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
Apologies for any errors made~


	19. The Lost Wings Of The Unknown.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realisation dawns upon a lot of people as the sun rises and with a new day do certain soldiers stumble across a void room and a missing presence.
> 
> Your presence.

The sun rises, dusk turns to dawn and with the new day crowning atop of the horizon, reality drops down heavy upon every man, woman and soldier who existed as of current within the Stohess district. They all gather and stand, pointing trembling fingers up at the half exposed creatures face who's eye shift with a slow revolve downwards which served as a daunting reminder to humanity once more because we truly knew...nothing. 

We took a step forward, only to take three more backwards. 

Everybody's looking to Hange for guidance on the matter, but even she is just as lost, glaring helplessly up at the titan within the wall whose eye rolled directly onto her, seemingly meeting and holding the livid expression which bubbled just below the surface of her otherwise blank face.  
It cracked the second a hand slapped itself down upon her shoulder.

Pastor Nick wheezed for breath. "Whatever you do, do not let the light touch that titan!"

Hange's eyes darkened. If somebody was to answer her questions, he surely would. 

Meanwhile, Mikasa's reaching for the doorknob which should have led her into the room Levi had last left you in if she recalled correctly. Eren's a few paces behind her and by his sides are Armin and Jean, all ready to relay the latest news which they'd caught by ear from a too loud mouth of a passing Scout. It rattles in her hold before the latch clicks and the wooden pane of the door swings open with a creak, the four soldiers of the 104th file in, but are stunned at the lack of life they find within the room. 

The sheets upon the cot are folded neatly, as if no one had slept in them in the first place and all medical supplies previously used and left out had been cleared away. All traces of your existence having ever been there now erased all besides one. A chair is tucked away against a dust speckled desk, and thrown over the back of the seat is the same identical jacket which each of the four others also wear. The emblem of the Wings of Freedom seems to almost stare back at them, pushing dread down deep into their throats which they each struggled to swallow over.

"Maybe she's just making rounds on patrol?" Armin offers, but Mikasa's shaking her head instantly, one hand held flat against the uncomfortable cot.

"The sheets are cold. Survey Corp soldiers didn't take over patrolling roles until two hours ago. She's been gone longer than then." Mikasa turns her head, regards Eren with a cautious look who gnaws nervously at the ends of his nails. 

Jean bites back an irritated sigh, ruffling the hair atop of his head in annoyance. "She was injured wasn't she?" 

Mikasa nods. "Mildly so. Yes." 

"Shit. Where did she go then?"

Both Jean and Armin shrug in response to Eren's frustrated words, neither of them finding the time to speak or even think about giving the titan shifter a reply as another head popped around the corner of the doorway, messy and rumpled per usual with those goggle glasses back to being perched atop of her head.

"Yo! Smith I could really do with your- oh, it's you lot. What are you doing here? Where's-" 

Eren cuts Hange off before she can even finish speaking. "We don't know, Mikasa said by the looks of it she's been gone for hours. We were hoping you would know if she's been assigned somewhere else or something like that?" 

Hange purses her lips in obvious confusion and thought. "Scouts are assigned to strict posts as of current. Erwin and Levi ran me by them all just before. I've just been out near the wall all morning and I didn't see her plus there's no way she would be assigned to clean up or medical since she's terrible at both." 

A deadly silence hangs over the five of them, thoughts racing a mile a minute as they all struggle to come to some understanding of where the hell you could have been. Perhaps the answer would come in the form of the Lance Corporal who himself now stood within the doorway. 

"Oi. What are you all doing in here? There's things to be done and shit to do." 

"Levi where is she?" Hange doesn't need to specify who she's speaking about. That much was obvious and if it wasn't? A simple incline of her head in the direction of your discarded uniform jacket certainly was. 

The way Levi's jaw clicks and the way his muscles tense could be seen by all five of the Scouts present, his hands fisting openly at his sides as he sucked in a harsh, sudden breath and seemed to hold it within his chest before answering on an exhale. 

"She's been dismissed." 

Hange's face falls instantly, but the others don't seem to exactly understand what the Lance Corporal was alluding to the first time round.

"She's been sent back to the base?" Eren questions, brows furrowed in confusion.

Levi shakes his head. "No you idiot. She's been dismissed from her post within the Scouts Regiment. She's no longer an active soldier." 

Silence falls over them all once more, but this time there's no different thoughts racing about avidly within each of their minds. Instead, a common question is implanted deep within their brains and it's the only thing which circles around them again, and again, and again. 

What?

Across the district of Stohess and passing through the released gate, a streaking blur is all which could be detected, a ruffle of white material and a whipping tie along with knotted hair and the silken mane of a majestic steed. Jostling gear clatters with every shift and move of the body it's connected to and although it's now technically stolen with the removal of the title which permitted it to be once used, it surprisingly doesn't feel heavy with burdened guilty which you should have felt.

You should have felt guilty for taking your ODM gear with you despite being stripped of your status and title amongst the ranks, but you didn't. Or more like you couldn't. 

For reasons unknown, an unsettling feeling took root deep within your stomach and gripped at the blood surging through your veins. It simmered and it burned, leaving you nauseous and restless which had pushed you to essentially commit the very crime you were about to commit.  
You were about to go against every word Erwin had spoken the previous night, but you did not care.  
For there was a gut feeling too strong for you to ignore, it left you clammy and anxious, and it had also urged you towards the South of Wall Sina, frantic to reach Mike and the others despite you not really knowing why. 

You could be angry at Erwin and Levi later. You could throw a tantrum and feel the hurt when this other feeling finally subsided, but for now, there were more pressing matters to tend to and you were almost near to positively sure that Mike and his squad as well as the other brats of the 104th were linked in with this horrid feeling all too closely. 

It left a bitter taste exploding across your tongue and staining your taste buds, the biting cold more merciless than usual as no jacket was draped across your back to ward of the rushing wind which breezed past and pinched at exposed skin with gnarled fingers.

"Wait for me you damn Bloodhound." 

A ways back, Levi snaps his head around with an expression of upmost disbelief and annoyance painted across his face. Eren and Hange at either of his sides also turn, eyes wide and brows arched as they regarded the panting Scout before them with expectant gazes. Erwin peers over his soldier's shoulders at the man bent at his waist who fights for his breath. 

"What's going on?" He questions, presence known instantly which had the Cadet saluting the blonde immediately with fumbled movement. 

"He says there's been a sighting of a stallion and it's rider headed towards the South of Wall Sina." Levi's arms are crossed tightly over his chest which is puffed out only in the slightest, the faintest of snarls being detected upon his lips as they drew back in an animalistic manner. 

"A stallion? Is it one of ours?" 

The red-faced Scout frantically shakes his head. "A Mustang." 

Erwin sours instantly, lips pursed into a thin line as he willed himself to count to ten in hopes of suppressing the irritated outrage which threatened to slip and burst forth. Levi levels him with an understanding stare because he too no doubt was thinking and feeling the exact same thing his Commander was.

"I don't get it. Who-?" Eren's words are cut off before he can finish them.

Hange is quick to point her thoughts out, hinting at what everybody else didn't want to believe nor assume. "Only one person we know who has come anywhere close to taming that breed of horse." 

"Of damn course it would have to be her. Why does it always have to be her? Why can't she just follow orders the first time round?" The Lance Corporal is full of complaints, scuffing the tips of his boots against the floor as he glared downwards. 

Erwin however is slowly starting to piece things together, mind racing and thoughts flying as he stands stock still in silence, stuck inside his own head for a fleeting moment which flashed by in the blink of an eye. 

"Something's not right." He finally announces. His present company all frown.

"We already established that Erwin. Were you just not listening. A dismissed soldier is both carrying and intending to use military gear for a personal aim."

Erwin shakes his head at Levi's words, paying them no heed. "No. Something bigger than that is wrong. She's stubborn and hard headed, but she isn't dumb. She wouldn't pull something like this just for the sake of riling up a reaction. She's probably felt something and gone with it." 

Eren leans forward, actively seeking a part on this rather confusing exchange of words. "You mean like a gut instinct?" 

Erwin nods instantly. "Exactly. Only Scout Smith's gut feeling is never wrong. If she's headed where Mike and the others have been stationed, then I'm confident in saying that we can expect something soon. Stay alert and remain-" 

"Commander!" 

All bodies shift and turn, eyes gravitating towards another racing Scout who much resembled that of the first messenger. 

"Titans! Titans have breached Wall Rose!" 

Everything stills and then there's a single utter which slips Levi's parted lips.

"Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you all enjoyed.
> 
> I apologise for any errors made within the chapter.


	20. The Beast Titan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An encounter with what appears to be an abnormal titan occurs except...it's too intelligent for you to just pass it by.

Mike stares in horror up at the abnormal titan who equally stares just as intensive back at him. The Scout trembles, chords within his throat wrung tight and aching as he attempted and failed at the slightest movement of shifting his feet backwards. His fingers would flex and jerk, but that was it, arms hung limp like lead at his sides as he gaped up at what could and more than likely would be his demise. 

The beast reaches forward, long, stretched arms shadowing Mike's frame which dropped and hunched tightly in on itself against the grass, whispers of fear and terror breaking the otherwise heavy atmosphere of impending doom. The hand doesn't latch around him. Doesn't really even touch him. It flicks the main unit of his ODM gear off of him and that's how Mike knows he's truly screwed as several abnormal titans lie in waiting within the perimeter and his last means of escape has been so cruelly taken from him.

Slowly, the titan inspects the cleverly crafted piece of equipment, holding it carefully within it's hands as it turned and began to walk away. No longer interested in Mike nor in the idea of eating him. Mike's hands begin to inch towards the discarded blades, coiling his fingers around the handles of the weapons and drawing himself to stand. 

A battle cry of pure frustration and determination is seconds away from falling from his lips when he stops and freezes. His nose scrunches, sniffing heavily at the open air as another, new, foreign scent passed him by. 

Medicinal salve, cinders and ash and hay bales.

The first titan of the five reaches for him under the dictation of the larger beast, meaty hands clutching at the Scouts arm which had him screaming in protest, begging to be spared and released as tears began to freely fall from his eyes. The hand's detached from it's arm quicker than what Mike could blink though. He stumbles forward after the heavy weight and grip is removed from him, spinning on his heel to find the hand steaming within a pool of it's own blood. His gaze flicks upwards at the first sight of a moving blur, heart beating erratically within his own chest which rattled with every short inhale he dragged inwards. 

Who the hell? 

The first titan which had reached for him drops, and Mike has no choice but to lamely scramble out of the way of it's plummeting frame. The blur darts to it's next victim and the expert use of the whirring wires confirmed his assumptions that it was indeed a Survey Corps Scout who had come to his rescue. Was it a soldier of his own squad? No way. He directed them towards completely different directions to that of his own, so who? He braves a look over his shoulder, noting the way the larger creature is just standing and watching, almost as if cataloguing every shift and move of this Scouts body who used and worked the ODM gear. 

Another falls, and suddenly there's only three more to go. They each fall as quickly as the first, blood splattered in streams across the spring grass and bodies steaming as they piled and overlapped one another. Mike is tense once more, fearful to turn just in case the haired titan all of a sudden decided to take a new interest in him. 

It doesn't. 

It just remains standing for a few more passing seconds, eyes rolling over Mike in an almost smug kind of manner before it turned once more and began to walk away.

"I see." It's voice rung out. "So that's how they work." 

Mike's tempted to scream out, to shout and curse at the creature, but he's no chance to as a finger hooks into the collar of his uniform jacket and he's yanked in the direction of a patiently waiting Mustang. 

"Get on." Are the orders thrown at his face, and with wide eyes he looks down at a head doused in blood which slowly fades away in steaming clouds. His gaze shifts lower, taking in perfectly ribbed stitches and the last remains of a black eye with thinly pursed lips.

Unimpressed. You were unimpressed. 

"What are you-?"

"Now. Get on now Zacharias."

He heaves himself up onto the back of your horse and bristles when you don't immediately hop on behind him. With this new point of perspective, he gets another look over you and notices the lack of your uniform jacket which was a compulsory wear when out in the fields of business. You momentarily shrink beneath his gaze but then quickly remind yourself of why you were here in the first place. Eager. You were eager to get Mike away from here and back safe towards Stohess where Erwin and the others would be. Where he would be able to get patched up and receive another set of ODM gear which wouldn't leave him out feeling so vulnerable like he was right now. 

You pat the thick neck of your trusted steed. "Go. He's quick, he'll get you back to Stohess in no time. You're no good out here without your gear." 

Mike glares down at you, reins of the bridle crushed tightly within his hold. "I can still fight! I can still-"

"Be realistic Zacharias!" Your growled outburst takes him completely by surprise. "I'm not losing you too. Now get your ass back to Stohess and warn Erwin of everything." 

"But you'll-"

"Be fine." You finish his sentence with a reassuring nod, rounding the back of your mount and raising a shaking hand. Scared. That was something Mike hadn't seen you look like in a long time. You looked scared, and it squeezed his heart to see you so. "When I next see you...you best be in one piece." 

"Likewise." He snarks, handing you that get away card out of a heavy exchange of emotions with a single shred of humour which you took with a baited chuckle. 

"I'll see you soon Bloodhound." Your hand collides harshly with your mount, startling him instantly into a canter which sent Mike in the steered direction of the Stohess district. 

You watch him go, figure growing smaller and smaller until he's out of view and then and only then do you crumble. You slam the palm of your hand against your mouth and keel over, coughing hard enough that your body twitched and seized with every one which tore through you. Your free hand loops around your throbbing ribs, holding yourself together as each inhale was haggard and scratchy. 

You didn't have time for this. Not right now anyway.

Swallowing down the next cough which was near to bursting forth, you grit your teeth and bit down hard, forcing the sensation down all the while straightening out your back and heaving through the excruciating pain which jolted through your body like lighting. 

"Damn titan sure did get a good grip on me." You hiss, staring down at the dotted red across your palm which you wiped away against a nearby tree trunk before brushing the trail of blood at your lips away using the back of your hand. It streaked angry crimson across your chin and cheek, the action useless but you were too tired to care. 

Instead, you tensed your body with every intention ready to move once more. You angled yourself in the direction of the North, your aim being to scope out whichever next Scout you could and offer as much help as possible. 

The trees taper off the closer you move towards the North you notice, and it's with stunned shock do you come across Sasha racing away from a visually robbed titan who has an arrow sticking out of each of it's eyes. You smirk, proud of the sheer craziness and guts that girl had as you rounded on the beast and finished the job for her.

She paused at the sound of whirring wires.

"Sasha!" You call, catching up with her in no time and racing besides her. "Where's your gear?" 

"We didn't have time to kit up. The breach happened all too quickly." 

You reach for her, ready to scoop her up and travel by tree tops where it was much safer when a herd of racing horses went by with riders upon their backs. Sasha jolted backwards, gaping at the horses who all stopped at the one command of the rider who was positioned at the front.

"Sasha?" 

You don't know how or why, but the next thing you're aware of is that you've each been given a horse, following the motion of the group as you quietly ride besides Sasha who speaks with the older man. 

"We've been givin' horses to everyone in the area. That girl told us someone was still back there. Who'da thunk it was you? You fought of that titan for that girl, didn't ya? Sasha...yer all I hoped for." 

Your heart swells for a swift moment, and you can't help the awe filled look which possessed your features as you glanced between Sasha and this man. Sasha smiles, lowering her eyes as she sadly looked upon the path they all travelled across.

"Father...I'm home."

He smiles lovingly at his daughter before being able to see the way you tense out of the corner of his eye. He looks you over in an instant, eyes lingering on the smeared blood across your face and the few remaining stains where the titan's blood stubbornly stuck.

"Ya hurt?" 

You shake your head, being able to feel Sasha's eyes on you now too. 

"No sir. I'm completely fine." 

He is a hunter though and that means Sasha is the daughter of a hunter, their eyes are impeccably attuned to detail and so it's without a hitch do they notice the threatening tear in one of your stitches and the uneven rise and fall of your chest which led them to noticing the discolouration of your skin beneath your dress shirt.  
Sasha's father scoffs, unhappy that you had lied.

"We'll get you patched up and then send you both on yer way. You gotta try'n fix the titan problem." 

"That's not necessary sir. Honestly, I'm-" 

"Please!" Sasha cuts you off with wide eyes. "Just let them treat you?" 

You concede with an incline of your head, arching your neck to stare up at the sky as you finally allowed a broken exhale to burst forth. 

"As long as it's not an issue." 

"For Humanities Hidden Soldier? Never." 

A shudder runs up your back as you balk at Sasha's Father, knocked for six as that name now rattled around inside your head. It had been so long since you had heard that title, when you dropped of the radar that title went along with you, forgotten by many as a new man was thrust into the limelight.

Lance Corporal Levi Ackerman. Humanities Strongest Soldier. 

It was argued that when you were at the peak of your performance, you would have been the make or break decision for acquiring Humanities victory. You were the 'hidden weapon' and essentially the 'hidden secret'. Nobody really knew you, they just knew of you. Had heard rumours and gossip but nothing more. You were a title and a skill set with a certain amount of kills and assists. So imagine the people's surprise when you finally cracked under the pressure of it all, trauma and heartache so heavy that your human qualities proved yourself to not be invincible once more. Your title and reputation died out when your passion did. 

It hadn't sparked alight since. 

"How do you...?" 

"Know who you are?" He grins, and that action alone is enough to leave Sasha confused and beyond taken back because she doesn't believe that what she heard the first time round was actually correct. "Everybody in our village admired Humanities Hidden Soldier, she was a fresh piece of hope in this wretched existence." 

Your words are bitter and cold. "And yet I stopped fighting. You were foolish to admire somebody like me."

"You came back didn't ya?" 

That's all he says and that's all he really needs to say for some sense to be knocked back into your brain. Here you were, stripped of your ranks, without a title and now practically a criminal...but you were doing it all to better Humanities chance of winning and survival. You went against your brother and Commander's order, stole your gear and used strict information on a need to know basis between Scouts and Scouts only to not only help and save Mike, but also come to the belated aid of Sasha. Two people may have not have seemed all that many, and even if it was only one...one was better than none. 

You bow your head in thanks, missing the wide grin which stretched Sasha's face and the understanding glint within her Father's eyes who continued to look your way. 

"I ain't no soldier or out, don't go lowering your head to me girl." 

"Yessir!" You snap your head up instantly, and for a second you're remembering what it was like back when your Father was still around. Ever so loving but always so strict when it came to protecting both you and Erwin. That trait had been passed down to your brother no doubt, and he projected that kind of behaviour onto you when the time called for it. 

"Atta girl. Now let's get going. We ain't got time to waste." 

You and Sasha look to one another and share a solid nod before the speed of the team of riders and their horses sped up considerably. However, with your hands wrapped around the reins of this rather friendly and patient mare, you can't help but notice the way your palms feel clammy and the way your stomach churns.

Something else was coming.

You could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Apologies for any errors made~


	21. Dirty Little Secret.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know his dirty little secret. Or is it their dirty little secret?

You had made a mistake. Or that was how it seemed. 

A sudden influx of titans had came rushing in despite the hanging moon and had taken not only you, but the other Scouts in your company by surprise too. They weren't supposed to be active at nightfall, so how? Why?  
Splitting from Sasha all those hours ago had seemed like a smart decision, but running low on gas and having only blunt blades now was proving it to have been the wrong action to take. 

You had chosen to discard your worthless gear.

Now, you daringly sit upon the ledge of one of the castle turrets, legs dangling as you focused not on the scrambling creatures down below, but instead on the beast looking titan who walked away from the castle and towards the wall. It was intelligent. It just had to be. But the question now was who was it that resided within its nape? 

"Smith!" You looked towards the source of your last name in an instant. "A titan got in. You and the rookies need to go back down and make some kind of a barricade. Retreat back up top as a last resort. I'm afraid we won't be able to do much if that's the case though." You frown at Lynne's words, but say nothing in return.

Instead, you incline your head in a motion for the rookies to follow you back into the castle and all too willingly do they do so. Racing down the many stairs, Reiner charges forward head first and it's with a reluctant sigh do you fasten your pace to keep up with him. 

"Boards or rods. Bring anything that will be sturdy enough!" 

He passes through the first exit, and you're both relieved to find the titans hadn't reached that level yet as you raced down the next set of stairs and came to stand before the next door. With trembling hands, you lifted the plank of wood locking the barrier closed and pulled it open, being able to feel the heat of the fire from the torch in Reiner's hand as he pressed it forward. For a second, you think you're in the clear but that alleviated feeling is all too soon ripped from you as large, crescent eyes stared up at you. It's mouth stretched even further into a wide grin and Reiner barely had time to snatch you against him and back through the threshold of the door before the titan was pouncing forward. 

"SHIT!" You snarled in his caging grasp, pained at the tight hold he had over you as the blonde Scout hauled you around and pressed his back against the rattling door. 

"THEY'RE HERE!" He bellows, tense against the wood as a sudden arm broke through and animalistic eyes peered out at you who stood paralysed. "Bring something quick!" Bracing himself against the door, you move to help the younger Scout but are quickly pushed back which evoked a sound of distress from your lips. The titan's arm swings outwards and down, ready to grip at his form when he dodged at just the last minute.

"Reiner!" 

You both spin, watching the back of Bertholdt who lunges forward and with Reiner's added power, plunges the sharp end of a piercing fork into the creatures eyes. Staggering backwards and openly struggling for air, you foolishly drown out everything that was proceeding to happen around you until an arm was hooking around your waist once more and you were tugged against a broad chest. Reiner. What the hell was it with this kid and tugging people? 

Either way, you watch the tail end of a rolling cannon ram itself head first against the titan and throw up a cloud of dust and rubble in its wake. There's no way it's getting up after that, not with the size that it's at anyway.

"For now let's retreat back upstairs." Krista is the voice of wisdom and reason, prompting Ymir alongside her and Reiner and Bertholdt to reluctantly follow after with you and Connie bringing up the rear of the group. 

You sway along beside him, arms banded protectively across your ribs as Connie paid close attention to every shift and move of your sluggish body. Tired. The events of today and every single wound upon your body was slowly beginning to catch up with you. You were tired.

Krista is inches from passing through the threshold of the upstairs door when she's twisting quickly on her heel, face etched with horror as she screams out. "Connie!" 

Said Scout and you both whirl around, gazing up at another titan who pounces and without thinking you throw your arm out and push the younger Scout away. Like a presented meal on display however, the titan chomps down on your forearm, ready to lock it's jaw and rip when another pair of hands are lodging their way inside the beast's mouth and pushing it open. 

Bertholdt yanks you back as soon as an opening is created, and the titan exchanges your arm for Reiner's who winced and hissed in pain. 

"Reiner! What are you-" You're stunned into silence, watching in horrified awe as the stocky soldier heaved the titan up and over onto his back. 

"Oi! Reiner...don't tell me you intend to jump out of the window with it!?" 

"I've got no other choice!" He rasps, thundering with stilted steps up the stairs and leaning out of the window with the large humanoid beast thrown over his shoulder.

Connie snaps, scrambling to his feet and racing after him. "Wait!" He brandishes the simple, small blade in his hand. "If I can just slice it's jaw open, I can..." 

You don't need to see what Connie's doing to know what's running through his head, all you know is that he's proven successful when he shouts a relieved 'you're free' and pulls Reiner away from the perching beast. You stop and wait by Bertholdt's side down at the base of the steps, clutching at your useless, bleeding arm and feeling disgusted by the evident teeth mark gashes left within your skin. It doesn't feel broken, but you couldn't be too hasty in assuming so. 

It swivels, a grumbling sound resonating from the beast itself as it appeared ready to jump again but Ymir beats it to the chase. Flawlessly, she lunges and swings her leg out, sending it plummeting down and out of the window. 

The young Scouts are quick to then barricade the next intact door which you all retreat behind, both Connie and Bertholt fixing rods into place which firmly locked it closed. Krista leans down low against the seated Reiner, pouring alcohol over his open wound and improvising a makeshift sling for his more than obviously broken arm. For a second you forget the multiple sources of pain on you body and humour yourself at the lovestruck expression Reiner holds for Krista which he so desperately tries to hide.

You catch it anyway.

"Your arm." Krista turns her attention onto you then, hand held out expectantly as she wished to inspect the open, gaping wounds stretching in intervals from your wrist to the bend in your elbow. 

"It's fine." You stubbornly reply, holding it close to your chest and ignoring the spidering crimson which webbed across your dress shirt and stained it. "It's not broken so there's no issue. It can wait." 

She fixes you with a disappointed and disapproving look, but says nothing in response, just nods and turns back towards Ymir who speaks before a sudden tremor rattles the castle. You grit your teeth but keep your silence, racing up stairs towards the top of the tower with the rookies behind you where you all come to a stop just as Lynne and Henning were lowered down against the ground.

Another tremor hits, but this time you know what it's the result of as a large flying piece of debris collides with one of the towers to the castle and sends it collapsing. You're instantly looking to the direction it came from, spying the back of that same beast titan you ran into earlier climbing down the other side of the wall after whole heartedly celebrating it's attained target. What was it playing at? What were it's aims? 

Being dragged abruptly from the confines of your own mind, you're at a loss for what to do as pained screams pierce the heavy night and the image of Nanaba being torn and ripped limb from limb engrains itself into your head.

It vaults you back in time, you had already lost so much on that expedition already and you had vowed you would die protecting the last sole survivor of your squad. He was so young. A barely graduated cadet. You'd turned your attention from him for a fleeting second and when you next looked upon him it had been because you had heard his wails of despair and anguish. You had been able to do nothing more but stare and watch helplessly, cataloguing every plea, cry and scream within your mind because the dead deserved to be remembered. 

The dead always deserved to be remembered. 

"YMIR!" Krista's shrill screech pulls you back to reality, and it's with a baited breath do you watch the tan girl vault herself over the side of the castle turrets, knife in hand which she uses to strike her palm. 

It all happens so fast that you don't really perceive it to be real. A spark ignites which you had seen once or twice before and warm steam washes over you all in waves. Pushing forward to the edge, you watch the way titans fall one by one, necks bitten and ripped apart by a titan who jumped from victim to victim.

"This can't be real...Ymir's a titan too?" 

The tower shifts, and Krista's balance is thrown all too easily. She tips forward and over the ledge, eyes wide with surprise before a solid hand was latching around her ankle and keeping her suspended in the air.

"Th-Thanks Reiner." She breathes a sigh of relief, but said Scouts grip grows stronger and stronger, evoking complaints of discomfort from the small girl in his hold.

You inspect the exchange closely, interfering only when Krista's face scrunched in pain. You pinch the stocky soldiers broken arm, bringing his attention onto you with a hiss. He immediately loosens his grip, pulling Krista back to solid ground with a husked apology which she batted away with weary eyes. 

"Krista...did you know? That Ymir is a titan?" 

"I had no idea, and I was always so close to her too. How? How could this be? That titan...is Ymir?" 

You think back to Eren, and wonder if like him, did Ymir have no clue about her titan shifting abilities. There again, she seemed so sure of herself in this incident, like she knew it would work, and that was in great contrast to Eren who was still all too new to the titan shifting ability he possessed for reasons unknown. Connie snaps forward all of a sudden, and you hover like how a nervous parent would, scared that one of these reckless brats would fall just like Krista had done but Reiner wouldn't be so quick to catch them again. 

"She's-!" Ymir latches onto the stone making of the tower, but releases it, falling back into the crowd of fumbling, grappling titans. "What was that?" Connie frowns. "Is she scared of breaking the tower!?"

Krista buffs. "Of course she is, with that power she could just save herself and run away but she's not. She's risking her life and fighting to protect us. Why? Why?...Ymir!" The small girl suddenly heaves herself back atop of the turrets, leaving you to suppress a cautious squeal and for Connie to reach and hastily wrap his arms around her legs to keep her stable. "Don't you die, Ymir! Not in a place like this. Don't pretend like you're good, you idiot! You wanna go out in a blaze of glory? Are you stupid? It's too late for you to try and get into heaven! Live for yourself goddamn! If you're gonna die protecting this tower then forget about it! TEAR IT DOWN!" 

Your smirk cracks into a grin and you're reminded why you were so fond of the small but powerful girl in the first place as she stood mighty and proud atop of the tower amidst the chaos and destruction, eyes ablaze as her passion still so clearly burned bright. It made you yearn for that same fire to rekindle inside of you. Even when it begins to tip, you don't worry, weight evenly distributed to avoid falling as the entire structure slowly gave way. 

Ymir leaps to the top, and although she's talking, you're not really paying her any attention. Her words compute inside your head, but you're focused on Bertholt, and the hand he's got seized between his teeth, not biting down, but not grazing either. He doesn't feel your glare, but Reiner thinks he catches the tail end of it as you narrow your eyes just before following Krista's and Connie's lead with latching onto a strand of the titan's hair. The creature drops, leaving the tower to fall and on it's way crush all the titans beneath it.

The battle however it not yet won.

"Oi! Ugly, go kill it!" Connie orders, pushing Ymir to latch onto what appeared to be the only titan which had managed to get to its feet. She bares pointed fangs and locks on, unaware to the impending doom which comes in the shape of the many unslain titans who flock and attack. 

Krista cries out, racing forwards and pleading for Ymir to stay strong and fight harder but what she fails to notice is the titan who lies in waiting just beyond the other side of an upturned piece of rubble. It snaps itself into view when the young Scout least expects it and all you can do is scream her name, cursing yourself and the many injuries which restricted you from acting quick enough. 

Whirring wires and fluttering cloaks come into view though, and the titan who was inches from gripping Krista is slain then and there by a Scout who slides swiftly across the rough terrain. 

Mikasa looks out over the scene. "Everyone get back. We've got this." 

You should be relieved, but instead guilt and nerves plague you as seeing them suddenly reminds you that you're not supposed to be there. Attempting to fall back from the crowd, your foot snags against a rock the same time a finger hooks into the collar of your shirt and a warm muzzle presses against the side of your face.

"Your methods were a bit eccentric but I'm not surprised you managed to pull it off." Hange grins your way but you struggle to return the gesture. 

"Mike. Did he-" 

"He's safe. He's back in Trost, that Mustang of yours truly is a diligent one." You'd let out a heavy exhale if you weren't already biting back a threatening cough attack again where your lungs spasmed every other second. "Oh that's right, speaking of Trost...I've been told to deliver orders for you to return there at once." 

You arch a brow whilst patting the neck of the mare handed over to you. "Under whose demands?"

"Levi's. He's back in the district expecting you." 

Ah.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 4:00AM and I have college in two hours...alas, I had to get this up a little bit later than promised.  
I hope you all enjoyed!  
Apologies for any errors made~


	22. What Were You Thinking?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your arrival at the Trost district definitely turns some heads.

It had most definitely been strange, the lack of titans which you had crossed paths with whilst travelling back towards Trost. It had put you on edge and rightfully so, having no idea on whether a hidden beast could out itself at any given moment and snatch you up. Maybe it was pure luck that your journey had been so swift, but there again, luck never really did like you. 

Two yellow flashes had sparked across the sky not long after Hange had sent you on your way, and although you were itching to turn back, you knew you could offer no further assistance. With an arm out of commission, botched up lungs and ribs, a split forehead as well as no ODM gear, you would be a liability more than an aid to the cause. 

Therefore, you had no choice but to lower your head and grit your teeth, spurring the mare onwards towards Trost as she snorted and shook her head to ruffle the hair of her mane. The skin on your knuckles bleaches white from the sheer pressure of your grasp around the cracked, leather reins which tremble ever so slightly, the first sign of many which gave away your spent energy and exhaustion. You were a dead man walking waiting to drop. 

It seems the soldiers at the gate are expecting you, scoping the perimeter around you and assuring no titans were anywhere near the area before slowly beginning to lower the gate and grant you access into the district. It's yanked up as quickly as possible, the hooves of the horse you ride clicking against the cobble stone path as she slowed into a trot all the while you leaned forward and hissed through your teeth against her mane in pain.

Now wasn't this all so familiar? 

"Miss Smith! The Lance Corporal ordered you report to the Scouts courtyard as soon as possible." 

You wave the soldier off, dismissing them with a lazy flick of your wrist which you barely convinced yourself to lift. You've no need to guide your horse, she knows where to go all by herself it seems as she dutifully carries your broken form across the district, moving as softly as possible as if she was almost aware of the extent of your injuries. All too soon are you brought into the direct square of the courtyard where more than enough Scouts and Military Brigade Police are gathered. 

Sliding down from your steed, you pat a grateful palm against her neck before she was lead away elsewhere by another Scout who had the nerve to shoot you a look of pity. Damn Cadet. Who did she think she was? You didn't need no goddamn pity. 

He's not noticed you yet thank god, but your feet pull you in the one direction your mind screams at you to run away from anyway. You can't though. You're tired of running. Your legs are like jelly beneath the weight of your own worn body, steps more like shuffles as you scraped the soles of your boots against the ground. You grip your bleeding arm protectively against your chest once more, but the grasp falls the second you do. 

You're reluctant to catch yourself, or more like you're too tired to even attempt at saving yourself the embarrassment of hitting the ground. All of that doesn't matter though. A slender arm hooks around your waist and pulls you upright, and like sensitive skin exposed to hot water you cringe and hiss at the ache it causes to spike through your chest. As if a feral cat spooked, you skitter backwards, raising your eyes only when brown booted feet come into view of your downcast gaze. 

Levi's furious. That much is obvious. From his clenched jaw, angled chin, firmly crossed arms and the way he stares down his nose at you. He's inescapable at this point, and you're too enraptured to even think about making a break for it.

He seethes. "With me." 

You've nowhere else to go, so decide why not with him? It's not your brain which you're listening to right now, but the heart of the young, naive you which apparently managed to survive all this time after all. Maybe not for humanity, but maybe just for him. Perhaps that was selfish? You didn't really know. 

Staring at the back of Levi now, you're envisioning two more people at either of his sides. A girl who hangs an arm happily around his shoulders and a taller man who smiles whilst looking over the two of them. Happy. Together all three of them were happy. The Corps took that from him. For a moment, just for a single second, could you hate Erwin? Could you hate your brother who had in some shape or form been the reason Levi's happiness had been taken away from him? Is that what had pushed him to take the final step in attempting to kill Erwin? Was that all enough to excuse what he had done though? You could forgive, but could you forget? 

"Oi. Get inside." 

You jerked your head upwards, surprised to find you had carried yourself inside one of the soldier's many bases and were now stood outside what looked to be a door on the medic ward. You tensed, flashing Levi fearful eyes which he ignored with a tilt of his head. He wasn't on your side this time round. It wasn't all an act. He was actually mad and he was getting you alone this time round no doubt to truly rip into you. 

Your legs tremble and muscles quiver as you take your first step past the threshold, the smell of medicinal salves and herbs attacking your nose straight away which all seemed so far away the minute you heard the door slam behind you and turned to find Levi with his back pressed against it. Trapped. You were ultimately trapped. 

And like a cornered animal, you were waiting for the right time to bare your teeth and hiss in warning that you weren't somebody to be trifled with. You were waiting for Levi to attack because when he did, you would be fully prepared to counter with all you could muster in return. 

"Sit down." 

You wished you could fight back. But it's muscle memory to obey his every word and order. Like a love sick puppy, you drop yourself on the edge of the cot, the sheets itchy beneath your palms which you splayed against the mattress beside your thighs. You're too scared to look at Levi, so you miss the way he discards his black jacket and neatly folds the sleeves of his dress shirt up to the crease of his elbows. He smothers a disappointed sigh and instead begins pulling pieces of equipment and medical pots down onto a nearby trolley which he then rolls over near towards the cot.

Flinching at the abrupt, loud noise, Levi senses a hairline fracture crack across his angered barrier as he looks upon you now. You who in his eyes are so frail and delicate, you who he knows can hold their own but still thinks looking over you is necessary. You who is somebody that he wouldn't admit...but just wants to protect.

"Look at me." He demands, and the way you instantly follow his orders has him freezing in his tracks because you're squeezing your eyes shut as soon as your gazes lock and subtly reining your head back away from his reaching grasp. "Oi. You damn brat don't make me repeat myself." 

Your breath staggers out and you purse your lips in defiance before doing as you're told, looking at Levi and taking his entire image in as he slowly raked his eyes over you and began cataloguing every scratch, bruise and injury upon your body. He stops scanning you over the second he finds the large bite mark which cuts into the skin of your right arm. 

"What the fuck were you thinking?" He should be screaming and shouting at you right now, but maybe Levi is just as tired as you are. He snaps your arm up into his hold, brandishing a wet cloth against it whilst further inspecting each individual gash left there in the wake of the titan's chomping jaw. "Do you understand how much trouble you're in right now? You not only used Scout intel on a need to know basis for your own motives, but stole ODM gear and also recklessly jumped headfirst into titan infested territory without a title nor rank to your name on top of that. If word was to get out about this it would reflect badly on the Corps! Erwin would be in so much shit!" 

You glare long and hard at the man stood before you, stare unyielding as Levi's chest heaved up and down at the beginning of his rant. 

"Are you really that selfish runt?" 

You blink. Taken back by the bluntness of Levi's words but in reality you shouldn't have expected anything else. Levi was never one to beat around the bush. His vice clutch should have you wincing but you're numb to it all, his words rushing through your brain and the very blood which ran through your veins until there was an uncomfortable kind of itch simmering beneath the surface of your skin. Unease. 

Levi doesn't expect you to flash your teeth this soon.

You savagely rip your arm back into your possession. "I don't need your goddamn help!" 

He releases you with a hitched breath, amazed at the quick shift in the air as he watched you lurch forward and put up little to no resistance as you forced the Lance Corporal against the adjacent wall, the trolley skittering away out of sight after being thrust to the side. 

"Selfish? Me? Did I not ensure Mike was brought back to you all safe and sound? Did I not risk my own life in doing so? You want to talk selfish Levi? Because I've got a few things I can say about you when it comes to being selfish." 

Heated tension crackles around you both, spitting and cracking and it was inevitable that at one point or another you were both to become burnt under the flying sparks.  
Your injured forearm is pressed against Levi's arched throat which he presents on show, but it's with challenging, hooded eyes that he locks your arm there with a sharply pointed and jutted chin. Testing you just as much as you were testing him. Waiting to see if you would run from this like how you usually ran from everything else. 

Levi purrs, too low and sultry in the back of his throat for it to not send your legs weak beneath you. "Oh? Then please...do enlighten me?" 

You open your mouth only to close it again. You're stumped for what to say it seems because running through your mind is the one thought that 'it's all too personal'. You've got nothing to say to him that wouldn't open up some of your own scars in the process. Ones that were still too tender to even think about touching, never mind ripping the scab straight off of. 

"Can't say anything, can you?" He's smug, and you bet in his mind he thinks he has every right to be so. You flex your arm against him, and the Ackerman takes that as a signal to crane his head back and grant you the room to release your hold on him. You do so, but instead shift around instead to plant your palms against the back wall, just above his shoulders and beside his temples. 

You're loitering on the edge of something, and Levi can't really tell if you're even here with him now or somewhere far off inside your own maze of a mind. In truth, you're envisioning the house of cards you and Levi had built for yourselves over the years, threatening to topple at any given moment with the softest of huffs. Too vulnerable. That was what you were. You stood bearing over Levi right now, but he was in fact the one with the power. He was the one who controlled the here and now, and it irritated you to no end because you could never get the same grasp over him like what he had over you.

"Of all the things that could kill me in this wretched world...you hating me would be the most efficient." Shame mottles your throat an angry, red colour, blotching up your skin and flaring across your cheeks as Levi's unwavering, piercing stare felt too heavy and burdensome for you to stand before. Maybe you had made a fatal mistake in admitting what you just had, but it was weighing down on your heart too much for you to not lessen the load. 

Levi snarls, hips pushing forward to throw off your balance and effectively switch positions only he was more forward in pinning you down. He's gathered both of your wrists into one hand which he holds against the wall above your head and his knee hovers on the edge of pressing between the two of your own. 

"The fault is your own, you were foolish to place your heart in my hands when I warned you not to. I'm not made to love people you insolent brat." 

"You loved Petra didn't you?" You hold yourself high, even though you're feeling so low. Levi's shocked and frankly disgusted that you would stoop so far to hang something like this over him. "Or at least...she assumed you did. You let her go to her death thinking she was loved by you just as much as she equally loved you I bet." 

"I strongly suggest you stop talking." 

Smart words. Ones that you should have heeded. But you didn't. 

Instead, you hung your head forward, brazenly glimpsing into the Lance Corporal's stone cold eyes as your lips were a mere scant breath away now. Just the slightest nudge. That was all it would take. 

"Is that what you get off on Captain? Getting a girls hopes up only to see them dead before you could come anywhere close to giving them a reply?" He can feel the flutter of your breath as you bitterly chuckle, the sound reaching straight through his chest and squeezing his heart mercilessly. "That's cruel Levi." You raise your head once more, shameless as you stood emotionally naked before him with tears streaming down your face and blurring your vision. "You're too cruel." 

You're supposed to be numb with anger, so why are you hurting so much? You're supposed to hate the man you look upon, so why does it pain you to even think of doing so?

"I signed up for a war. Whatever 'this' is?" You gesture between the two of you. "This isn't what I signed up for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took awhile to get out!  
What's been your favourite scene so far in this story? I'm interested to know! 
> 
> Apologies for any errors made~


	23. The Samaritan.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scouts return, but you're already running.

Mike's knees are bony and pointed, but you feel secure sat between his legs, even if they're prodding and jabbing into your sides. His presence is a comfort in itself, the steady rise and fall of his chest reassuring against your back as you leaned against him, the threadbare sheets of the cot strewn down at the bottom and threatening to slip to the floor. With any other Scout Mike wouldn't have been caught dead in the same position he was sat relaxing with you now in, but you were like the little sister he never had and therefore you had a very special way of sneaking your way into his heart when he least expected it. 

"I heard Erwin dismissed you from your post?" 

Scoffing, you try your best to will down the angered spite which was more than ready to burst forth as you remind yourself that Mike was neither Levi nor Erwin and that he hadn't even been present that night it had all happened. 

"He thinks he's protecting me but all he's managed to do is piss me off." You've got one of Mike's hands held between the two of your own, inspecting the large paw with fascination as you played around and subconsciously folded and bent his fingers.

"So when you saved me-?" 

You shrug, nonchalantly. "I wasn't under ranking nor orders, no. I just knew something was wrong and here we are now."

Mike pokes your side with his one free hand and smirks at the way you jolt. 

"That gut instinct of yours sure is scary." 

You smirk in response. "Saved your ass didn't it?" 

"Don't let it get to your head kiddo. What I want to know is how you came back with more injuries than me?" 

How casual you are when replying to Mike's question has him blanching for a quick, passing second. 

"Oh. I got bit by a titan." 

"You what?" 

"Yeah," you shrug once more. "It was about to eat Connie when we were cornered up at some abandoned castle so I pushed him out of the way and the titan chomped down on me instead." 

"How careless can you be! How are you not dead right now?" 

"Reiner saved me. Dislodged the titan's jaw right then and there, exchanged places with me and then hauled titan ass over his shoulder to throw it out of a window." 

"You're reckless as fuck. You know that?" 

You turned to look over your shoulder and granted the Bloodhound a toothy grin, something which was immensely rare within itself, which you paired with a cheeky wink. 

"So I've been told. But Zacharias, I think Reiner and Bertholdt are-" 

The door swung open abruptly and with it brought a dishevelled looking Hange. You and Mike snapped your heads around to look to her in an instant. 

"Oh good, you're both awake! Erwin and the other Scouts are back." She shifts her attention from the two of you to then focus it solely on you. "He's demanding to see you once Commander Pyxis is through speaking with both him and Levi." 

You nod and that's the only form of acknowledgment Hange receives from you before she's dismissing herself with a subtle bow of her head and heels clicked cleanly together. You allow yourself to deflate against Mike one last final time, eyes roving over the clean bandages wrapped around your right arm which Levi had dedicated too much of his time putting there and ensuring were applied perfectly. 

The procedure had left you tense, coils wound tight beneath your skin as each skim and flutter of Levi's skin against your own had made you feel like a fire was being ignited within your very blood. It had been suffocating to say the least, but Levi had ignored your every scream for him to leave you be and he had instead pushed you forcefully down onto the medical cot and growled at you to stay put until he was through with treating you.

Shameful, you'd gone scampering to Mike for solace and the second in command had offered it you, although reluctant to begin with. 

Now however, you were slowly slipping away from Mike and his reassuring hold, pulling on your brown uniform boots as he watched the back of your frame closely.

"You're running again, aren't you?" 

You don't have the confidence to look Mike in the face as he speaks, but you sure do find it within yourself to at least grant him some form of a reply.

"It's what I'm good at isn't it? Running from my problems." You force a laugh, but Mike can see right through you. Has always been able to, and that's why you need to get away from here as soon as possible. 

"You're a coward Smith." There's not a shred of malice in his words, it's just stated like a cold, hard fact and you've no other option but to nod along.

"I know." You sigh. "Always have been and always will be, but I'm a coward whose afraid because they've learnt what happens when they put their heart on the line for the ones they love." You tug at a knot in your hair all the while making a move towards the door. "I want to protect my heart because I only have one and if that makes me selfish and a coward?" Levi's heated gaze flashes through your mind and you shiver. Mike picks up on the action. You shrug it off by yanking open the door. "Then so be it." 

You're gone by the time Mike's processed your words, leaving him with something heavy to think on as you race down the corridors of the military base, fearful of running into any Scout which you knew and therefore all the more motivated to get yourself off of the scene as quick as possible. 

The streets of Trost are no different than to what you remembered them to be the last time you travelled here. They're packed and tightly crammed, but everyone seems happy enough you noticed, life carries on like usual even whilst you sprint frantically down the streets which are the same to that of veins. 

There are two Scouts pursuing you who had no doubt recognised you and were aware of your current situation with the Commander. It's a hassle to shake them off, and you've tripped and fell a few times which had given them an extra push in closing the distance. Just as you think you're about to be caught, a hand latches around yours and you're tugged all too unceremoniously into a shaded alleyway. 

You're blindsided for a second, confused and disoriented as a hand reached up and covered your lips.

"Shh! You gotta be quiet otherwise they'll find us." 

You peer downwards and feel yourself melt instantly at the sight of a precious little girl with choppy brown hair and bright green eyes who you can't help but see a touch of Eren in. You squat down beside her, watching the two Scouts go racing past who haven't the slightest clue as to where you had disappeared to. She releases you when they're out of sight, a mischievous giggle falling breathlessly from her lips which she tried to contain by slapping her tiny palms across her mouth. Her entire frame shook with the motion and to you the sight was all too endearing. 

"Thank you." You smile, and the little girl returns the gesture with a gaping toothed grin. 

"No problem miss. They're easy to trick." 

You arch a brow as she splutters with laughter once more at the gesture.

"Oh? A sneaky one are you?" 

She opens her mouth to speak, but finds she doesn't have the time to. 

"-rie! Marie! Where are you? Ma- oh, here you are!" 

You and 'Marie' look towards the exit of the alleyway where a young woman stands, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she scowled down at the young girl in question. 

"Marie! What have I told you about running off like that!?"

"To not do it, but Mommy look!" She runs towards her Mother and gestures to you once being hoisted onto the woman's hip. "I helped the pretty lady!" 

She hones her gaze in on you and you can't help but shift nervously whilst under it, feeling impeccably bare and exposed under the piercing glare only that of a Mother could possess. She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

"Come with me. We'll get some food in you with some new clothes for you to wear." 

You're dumbfounded by this woman's extended offer of kindness, and momentarily you're too shocked to take her up on it until little Marie is being released and she's reaching for your hand once more. 

"Let's go big sister, Mommy has REALLY pretty clothes!" 

She tugs you along with her Mother leading, down the winding streets of Trost and through little market places until you're stumbling upon a modest but very cute little home. The little girls Mother walks in first, with you pushed in second and Marie closing the door behind all three of you. 

There's a flame lit in the fireplace, crackling and emanating warmth which sunk into you and your aching bones. You stand in the threshold, admiring the simple but clean interior of the house until Marie's Mother brought you back down to Earth with a gentle hand placed on your shoulder. 

"I'm Alina. That there is my daughter Marie." 

You bow respectfully and parrot your name to the two who had been so kind enough to take you in and save you from those pursuing Scouts.  
Alina smiles, dismissing your formal show of respect by telling you to raise your head.

"I know who you are Hidden Soldier." Your heart jumps at the sound of your title and Alina must sense the jolt which seizes your limbs because she smirks knowingly. "The shower is upstairs to the right of you. I'll gather you some clothes which you can wear afterwards and I'll redress your injuries before starting dinner." 

"None of this is necessary! Honestly, you're too kind!" 

"Nonsense!" Alina waves you off once more. "What I'm doing isn't nearly enough to pay you back for all the efforts you've put into giving humanity a chance." 

Her words are like a wet slap to the face, exactly like how Sasha's Father's had been and Alina knows she doesn't have to say anything more as you stare right through her with wide eyes. The young Mother instead orders Marie to show you where you need to go and with her holding your hand once more, she tugs you up the stairs and shows you the bathroom where a relaxing shower awaits you. 

"May as well throw them clothes out Smith! Looks like they've seen better days." 

You can agree with Alina on that part, stripping back the torn and blood stained cloth until you were stood beneath the spray of water completely naked. You're careful to avoid soaking the stitches in your forehead and arm after removing the bandages wrapped around them, tentatively scrubbing your skin and hair clean until there was a knock at the door. You switched the dial, and wrapped the towel around your body which Marie had given you before peeking around the cracked opening of the door. 

"I'm afraid they're not very combat suited, but for now I hope they'll do." You take the offered bundle in your hands, and feel your heart nearly burst as Alina further hands you a pair of boots to wear. "Hopefully they should fit, although they may be a tad bit too big. Take your time getting dressed, I'll be waiting in the kitchen to re-wrap your wounds when you're done." 

"Thank you." 

Alina nods with a smile, shyly adjusting the ponytail at the front of her before shuffling back down the stairs.  
You close the door once more, and inspect the clothing left in your care. Everything, this woman had accounted for everything.  
It's definitely different to what you would usually wear, that much was obvious, and for the duration of dressing yourself your mind cast you back to your beloved black jacket probably still strewn across your pillow at the Scouts Barracks. Would you ever see that thing again? You hoped so. 

The white blouse you're dressed in is very petite and feminine you decide, and the red skirt which falls in pleats down to the middle of your shin which it's tucked into is very flattering. Alina had a good eye for this kind of thing it seemed, she had even given you a black cardigan to ward of the cold and you were itching to shrug it on because it reminded you that much of your own. 

"Oh! Everything looks like it fits okay!" Alina beams out at you from her seat at the kitchen table, scanning you up and down as you continued to towel off your hair. 

"Yeah," you lightly kicked your booted feet out, the knee length black boots very similar to the soldiers brown ones. "The boots fit rather nicely as well which I was surprised at." 

Alina claps her hands together. "Lucky! Lucky!" She chimes. "Now, come and sit whilst I fix you up. Marie sweetie, bring me the roll of bandages from the cupboard please." 

"Coming!" Marie calls, ambling into the kitchen with the white roll of cloth clutched against her chest, she thrust it eagerly into her Mother's awaiting hold.

"Thank you dear." 

It's with meticulous care that the young woman begins to wrap your arm after pushing the sleeve of your cardigan up, movement a bit more jumpy than that in comparison to Levi but that was just a clear sign of lacking experience. Nevertheless, you greatly appreciated all that Alina and Marie were doing for you. 

She tied it off with a little bow which she tucks away, storing the rest of the roll away before turning to the stove where food was waiting to be cooked. 

"I was planning to make soup, are you okay with that?" 

You nodded your head, allowing Marie to climb up and onto your lap where you bounced your knee softly and smiled as she bobbed with the movement.

"More than okay."

"That's good, it's Marie's favourite." 

"Mommy makes it REALLY nice you know? You'll love it!" 

"I'm sure I will." You nodded, before Alina sat down across from you as the soup was beginning to warm.

"I know I'm just some civilian and it should be none of my concern, but can I ask why you were running from two other Scouts earlier today?" 

You stare long and hard at the pretty woman sat before you, lips pursed in thought until you wrapped your arms around Marie and tugged her more firmly onto your lap so she wouldn't fall.  
You didn't know what it was about Alina and her energetic, bubbly child, but you just knew you could trust her. She was that figure of patience and kindness that you had been waiting for all this time. 

And so, you told her everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This upload was more of a filler, so I'm sorry about that, but it's leading up to a scene in the next upload which I can't wait to write and publish! 
> 
> Apologies for any errors made~


	24. Dancing Silhouettes Across One's Chest.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's beauty in the flames, and honey you're burning wildly.

The soldiers were always looking for a reason to celebrate, no matter how small or trivial the cause may be, and apparently the successful retrieval of Eren had been enough to warrant one. The merry making of men and women within the courtyard could be heard nearly halfway across Trost and the burning bonfire which they all danced and gathered around could also be seen from a far distance. The flames could lick the sky if they reached up just the furthest bit more but for you it wasn't a beacon which drew you back home, it was a warning symbol which you would avoid like the plague. The soldiers were back there, and wherever they were was where you were not. 

Erwin after much resistance, had dragged himself from the cot he was left in after being treated, now staring out at the roaring embers whilst his Lance Corporal walked towards him, mirroring the exact same expression upon his face. 

"She got away...didn't she?" 

Erwin doesn't reply straight away, his lips just purse themselves a tiny bit harder and his brows furrow a little bit deeper. Levi notices even in the tiniest of shifts he makes. 

"Levi." His name on the Commander's tongue snaps him to attention instantly. "Go and catch the little runaway won't you?"

A cat-ish smirk curls his lips, fingers flexing at his sides as he turned away from his Commander and stared past the burning flames. He knows you're out there and Levi also knows that you'll be anticipating something soon as he began his hunt flawlessly, fading out from the scene of the courtyard and chasing after his prey which he would seize between bared fangs. 

Perhaps it's misunderstood however who is hunting though, because sure you're running, but this time you're not running away. You're running straight towards the problem at hand and intending to crash head first with it. 

Levi stalks with an air of smug confidence through the streets of Trost which is within a great contrast to you who wheezes and pants all the whilst trying not to trip over the fabric of your skirt which fell down to your shins as you ran frantically across the district. 

The collision is inevitable, but yet still neither of you expect it. Levi tilts backwards under the running momentum of your body which crashes into his, you falling atop of him with a groan as Levi equally hissed back his displeasure at the weight dropped against him. He's not really sure if it's mortification or something else which fills him from head to toe as something warm and plush is pushed against the side of his neck, but for reasons unknown he struggles to say he doesn't miss the sensation when you jolt away from him as if scalded. 

You're horrified. Flushed red and trembling with embarrassment as you attempt to scramble off of Levi who is much quicker at gripping your thighs and keeping you locked down in place.

You weren't headed anywhere else anytime soon.

What the fuck? 

"Caught you~" Levi sings low in his throat and the mere sound of it sends a shudder raking up your spine. He's devilish enough to smirk as he can feel the motion wave over you. The cheeky son of a- 

"Levi." You breathe, squirming in his hold and trying to create an opening which you could latch onto in this shaded alleyway you had been most unfortunate to run into him in. Say, wasn't this the same alleyway Marie had dragged you into earlier to save you? Oh, how you wished she could save you a second time. You'd left only an hour ago but already you were missing Alina and her sweet, young daughter. "Sorry. I hadn't meant to run into you." 

He arches a brow. "Figuratively or physically?" 

You shrug, being able to feel his fingers press harder into the flesh of your legs. "Both." 

The Ackerman scoffs, pushing a leg out to hoist you up higher to give him enough space to weasel his way out from underneath you and then stand before hoisting you up with him. His hand moves from your thighs to your wrist and it stays there, much to your chagrin. 

"Too bad, I was assigned to hunt you out little kitty. You're my prey now, so let's go runt." 

You would snarl and hiss and kick out against him if you could, but his words had taken you by surprise and left you dumbfounded, much to his amusement as he began to physically drag you back across the district and towards the beacon of flames you had earlier been avoiding. It's with bubbling horror that you realise you're actually scared of facing the other Scouts and your brother, heart beating erratically and palms sweating no matter how much you willed yourself to relax and calm down. 

"Oi." Levi turns to you just as you're both shy of stepping onto military territory, his breath fanning warm across your face as he was far too close for comfort. It made you uneasy, scared that he would possibly see through your detached act. Silly you. Levi was always going to be able to see through you, you should have known that by now. "Be prepared. You're not going to like what you see." 

You can see Erwin a little way away, and by squinting your eyes a more clear image comes to view which leaves you breathless and fumbling for answers which you helplessly turned to Levi for. What had happened to your brother? Was he alright? Why did he look...pained? 

"Levi...I'm scared." It's funny really, how fear overrides anger and suddenly you're looking to the man by your side for solace and comfort instead of shouting and screaming about your troubles and woes. That's what always drew you towards him, the fact he was so easy to trust and to talk to. It was unfair really, how much you loved him just to know he would never feel the same way back. It was like you were a fire he himself had personally lit, only to smother and ignite again over and over. 

For a fleeting moment, he expects you to turn tail and run once more, like how you always would. It was what you were programmed to do after all. So imagine his surprise when you shift his grip from your wrist to your hand and weave your fingers through his own, locking him to you with jerky motions which were a giveaway to your rampant anxiety. "But I'm tired of running." Is the only excuse you can give, eyes flashing away from him in an instant to instead fixate upon the Commander waiting in the distance who you began to move towards with Levi like a steady and reassuring presence at your side. 

He decides within himself that if you can confront Erwin here and now without cowering away, he would begin to see you in a different light. You were tired of running, but perhaps maybe Levi was tired of pushing you away. Maybe, just maybe, he could risk letting you in and you alone. 

Levi notices how foreign the sensation of having your fingers wrapped around his feels, being able to feel the heat from you seep into him as he stalked forwards with long strides to catch up to your pace so he was no longer tugged along like a lost puppy. 

You stand resolute before Erwin, but both men have enough of a critical eye to spy the way your legs quiver beneath you and the way your lips tremble. Almost like you were about to...

Cry.

The only warning either of them get is the muffled sob which claws it's way up the back of your throat and the way you grasp all that more tighter onto Levi's hand, grip like a vice which the Lance Corporal barely even flinched at. Looking at Erwin now leaves you choked up on emotions, him appearing so haggard and lost with one less-

You couldn't even bring yourself to acknowledge it. 

"How?" It's barely a whisper, but they both catch it. The husking quality to your voice abrasive against their ears because it just sounded so...so wrong. You were supposed to be confident and put together. Not...this. Anything but this. "Erwin...how?" 

"A titan got me. I was lucky." 

You scoff through tracking tears which race down your face, too caught up in yourself to feel the way Levi comfortingly squeezes your hand.

"You was lucky? Erwin you could have died! You- You may not even be here right now and I-" your eyes go hazy and distant. "You could have died...and I wouldn't have even had the chance to save you." Suddenly, anger is biting into you. "We promised each other Erwin! Said we would always be there for one another, how am I supposed to do that when you're being stubborn and thinking you're protecting me by taking away my ranks? You could have died out there today and would have done so whilst going back on your word!" 

Erwin stares down at you shocked, mouth slightly agape and more importantly, stunned into silence. 

"You're not allowed to die Erwin Smith, don't even think about it. If you die, I'll kill you!" 

Finally, he manages to chuckle softly, and that's the only sound you need to hear before crumbling forward, hand slipping from Levi's so you could snake both arms around Erwin's waist and bury your face against his chest. 

"I apologise." He rumbles softly, petting your head. "It was wrong of me to do what I had done, so it's only right for me to say that you're officially reinstated." 

"That's not just the point." You grumble, but arguing any further when you're both in varying degrees of pain and tired just seemed pointless at that point, so you let it drop. For now. "Just...I'm glad you're okay." 

"Likewise." Erwin nods, he feels you peel yourself away from him and pretends not to notice the way you blindly reach back for Levi's hand once more who grabs for you like second nature.

Wait. What the fuck?

He pretended he hadn't caught the subtle action. He decided he'd hound Levi for answers and an explanation later. Instead, he spied over your shoulder Eren and the others who appeared more than eager to snatch you up for their own questions to be answered. Erwin thought he'd give you a quick escape.

"I have a favour to ask of you."

You cocked your head in question, encouraging your brother to speak further. 

"Elise Taylor?" That name rang like familiar bells within your head. You hummed in response. "I spoke with Nile, he said he would sort the issue out on my accord. I need you to head back to the Scouts base and bring her and the others back into Trost."

You scoffed. "Wouldn't it be best to take them all out? Saves us a bunch of unneeded effort."

Erwin fixed you with a reprimanding look which you shrugged away childishly. 

"Fine, fine." You moved to turn away from him, reluctant to release Levi's hand whose grip slowly began to weaken more and more. 

"Take the Lance Corporal with you. No one else is present at that base and I don't trust what those three will do if you're there all on your own." 

You and Levi shared a brief, passing glance which exchanged far more than what it should have done and flustered, you coughed to cover the way your breath hitched in obvious surprise. Levi squeezed your fingers once more. 

"I don't damn well need him." 

It was a grumble which rumbled up your throat, but both men caught the threatening pull of a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	25. Wait. What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not what you expect.

There's no grace in the way Levi throws the bundled clothing towards your face, fabric catching and scratching annoyingly against your skin as you caught it with fumbling hands and clutched it protectively to you. It wasn't yours by any means, it didn't have the smell of ash and salve clinging to it, nor did it have the subtle marring burns dusting across the fabric here, there and everywhere. None of that mattered to you though really. That old thing was beyond past it's time now anyway and a uniform was a uniform in your eyes. Or at least, that's what the softening look in your eyes told Levi. 

"Hurry it up. I'll be down in the stables waiting for you when you're done." 

You nod, scrambling to close the door behind him as the Lance Corporal dismissed himself with no further words. Slipping off the outfit generously provided to you by Alina, it's with a baited breath that you realise the Scouts uniform is something that you're always going to feel best in. By chance of luck, it fits you like a glove, and to your shock Levi had even been considerate enough to leave a pair of the standard brown boots behind too. You toe off your black ones in favour of the other, lastly shrugging on the tan jacket which was the final piece you needed in order to feel complete. 

A mirror hangs upon the wall, and for the first time in a while, there's a face looking back out at you who actually looks like you. There's a fire flickering somewhere, emitting plumes of smoke and like an addictive drug you're ready for the high which comes from it all.

The binding of the leather straps wrapped around your thighs and chest feel all too comforting as you race down the corridors of the base, passing by and dodging the stray soldier or two before ultimately crashing upon the stables where just like promised, Levi was. 

He's got a hand pressed against the neck of your Mustang, forehead lay against his muzzle and murmuring something too low for you to hear. Either way, it was something you were not supposed to hear anyway because the second your foot hit the stable, cobble flooring and evoked a harsh sound, the Lance Corporal sprang back as if offended and tore himself back from the touch of your horse. 

Flustered, Levi bristled trying to pry back his composure, cravat straightened at his neck and a hand tugging at the lapels of his jacket before stalking over towards his own black beauty. You do your upmost best in pretending to act like you hadn't seen anything, walking silently over to your mount who whinnied in fond greeting. It saw a grin break out across your face. 

You whisper. "Thank you." Like how Levi had, you press your forehead against the muzzle of your horse and try not to giggle at the puffs of air which he blows out across your face. It tickled. "Mike is safe and sound because of you. You're such a good boy, I promise I'll treat you after this." 

Your hand reaches up to stroke at his neck, fingers skimming against something cold and hard which made you rear your head back only to realise that it had been the reins of the bridle which you had touched. He was already kitted up. Had Levi done this? You spare the Lance Corporal a glance over your shoulder, but it seems as you look to him he looks away, too busy leading his own horse out of the stable stall and towards the courtyard which it was connected to. 

You smother another threatening, giddy grin, tugging open the stall gate instead and grasping at the reins of your horse to follow after your superior. He mounts his horse and following his actions you clamber up onto the back of your own. A spared glance is all he gives you before tucking his heel against the side of his horse and pushing the beast into a speeded trot. You're quick to follow suit, catching up and maintaining the same speed as him with no real issue. 

"Levi, where are the others? I didn't see Hange around nor any of the 104th. Even Mike is gone. What's going on?" 

"I see you're not as slow as you make yourself out to be." You scowl instantly at Levi's words because 'what the hell, I don't do that?' He smirks, almost as if he can hear your thoughts. "They're stationed at a more...inconspicuous base. Protecting Eren and Krista is the main priority as of right now." 

You hum. "Ah. You mean Historia?" 

Levi snaps his head around in a heartbeat, nearly swinging himself off of the back of his horse. 

"You knew?" 

You nod casually. "Yeah. You didn't? You hear stuff whilst travelling and I'm smart enough to connect the dots. She's a Reiss, right?"

"And you didn't think to say anything?" 

"I thought you knew." Was all you could reply, shrugging dismissively whilst shifting against the saddle you sat upon. 

Levi shakes his head in disbelief, twisting the reins around the back of his thumbs and tugging to lead his horse in a different direction. You followed flawlessly. 

"Your mind is a dangerous thing, runt."

"So I've been told." You roll your eyes. "Levi...where are we headed? This isn't the direction of the Scouts base where Elise and the others are held." 

"We're not headed back there. Erwin just said that as a cover up because as of right now, we don't really know who we can trust and who could be listening. Hange, Moblit and Mike are with the brats from the 104th, that's where we're headed now." 

You hum low in the back of your throat once more, head thrown back and neck bared as you gazed up out at the sky, missing the shameless way Levi stared at the strip of exposed skin and struggled to swallow only in the slightest. He looks away before you can come anywhere close to catching him.

"Levi...is it true?" 

He finally turns his head to look at you one more, expression guarded as he waited for you to expand on your exceedingly vague question. 

"Is what true?"

"That you've taken them in under 'Team Levi'?" 

He draws a breath in through his nose, eyes slipped close briefly which allowed you to admire the way his jaw clenched taut, his high cheekbones and his sharp nose. Sometimes you simply wished you could map his face out with the pads of your fingers until you knew each and every crevice like the back of your hand. 

"That's true." Finally, he nods. Eyes slipping back open to meet yours dead on and effectively render your lungs useless. He must have been aware of the effect he held over you. He just had to be. "You're no different."

An exhale of confusion breezed past your pouting lips. "Huh?" 

"You're also apart of Team Levi. Direct orders from both me and Erwin, so don't try and fight us on this." 

You hold your hands up defensively, indicating he held no reason to assume you would in the first place, unaware to the little camp which had slowly begun to crop up in the distance where Levi had every intention of taking you to. He reaches across the distance between your horse and his own, hand clasping atop of your head to twist it around in order to face the direction you were headed to.

You purse your lips at it. "How cute. Are they playing house in there?" 

"Far from it."

You scream, startled by the sudden appearance of Mike who was easily able to stride beside you and Levi at the slow pace your horses travelled at.

"Fucksake Zacharias! I'm not looking to die of a heart attack you know?"

The damn Bloodhound has the nerve to smirk, reaching up effortlessly to ruffle your hair the instant Levi released his hold on you. 

"It's good to see you too kid." 

He walks with you both to the stables which are pushed to the corner of this little camp, waiting for the two of you to dismount before handing off your horses over to the two Scouts who wait on hand. They're led away immediately and exactly after, you yourself are being led inside one of the little cabins, marvelling at the homey feel it brought despite being rather barren. 

There's a bustling commotion in the first room you notice, something about a stolen loaf of bread, and that's the room which Levi stalks into. You on the other hand hang back, propped against the doorway entry as all eyes from the 104th Scouts were on him, cautious and holding breaths as the Lance Corporal simply ran his hand across the underside of the table.

It came away dusted.

You cringed, fearful for what kind of lashing the younger soldiers were about to receive. 

"I'm quite sure I gave you enough time." Unsurprisingly, he procured a handkerchief from practically nowhere and with a practised manner, began to wipe his hand clean. You rolled your eyes at the sight, and were unfortunately caught red handed. "Oi. I saw that." 

"Glad you did." You purr back, ignoring the way all eyes instantly avert onto you as you instead pushed yourself up off of the door and slinked your way to Levi's side. "Why the long faces kiddos?" It's a harmless greeting, but they treat it like you've just freshly resurrected yourself back from the dead. Eren latches onto you first, eyes wide in disbelief and stumbling over his own two feet as he gripped you by your forearms and held you at arms length, scanning you up and down like how a concerned Mother would do with her bawling child.

"You're back! We thought we wouldn't get to see you again!" 

You scoff playfully, treading carefully across this emotional exchange. Heavy feelings typically weren't your forte when they weren't your own. "Connie and Historia literally saw me yesterday early morning. Sasha too. Erwin wasn't going to get rid of me that easily Braveheart, relax." 

He gapes up at you for one second, two, and then he dumbly nods, releasing you to step back to Mikasa's side who like usual, greets you with a solid nod which you mutually return.

"Youngblood." You acknowledge, the nickname rolling with ease off of your tongue which Mikasa was familiar with by now.

"Captain Smith." She bows her head in response. You furrow your brows.

"Captain?" 

"Yeah. Captain. You're the same as Hange and Mike, right?" 

Like an idiot lost, you nod at Connie's words.

"Then you're a Captain." Jean solidly announces, and you can't help but look to Levi, waiting for him to refute and deny that fact but all the more shockingly, he doesn't. He just proceeds to listen in as you sheepishly scratch the back of your neck.

"Ah, it's been awhile since I've been referred to as Captain." You suddenly spin on Levi. "Does that mean you're going to call me Captain too? You sometimes call Hange and Mike Captain." 

Levi grips the back of your head and pushes it down once more, but it doesn't erase the giddy grin which splits your face. If anything, it causes it to widen even more. Face alight with heat as Levi kept his hand now just at the top of your neck to keep your head pushed down and looking at the ground. 

"Don't get ahead of yourself runt." He turns to face the titan shifter. "Eren, Hange is itching to get the experiments started no doubt."

All too quickly does time seem to pass before your very eyes then and only then. Both Levi and Hange have left before you can even comprehend it, set straight for Trost District once more, even though it felt like you'd only just arrived, each with different motives and tasks in mind. Mike and you were officially assigned to looking over Eren and Historia as well as the other young Scouts. 

The night watch was left to you and Mike, only now, it was more like dawn as the sky set itself alight with shades of red, the sun beginning to scorch the horizon in a peaking 'hello'. You're seated atop of the watchtower ledge, legs dangling back and forth as you peered out at the vast green land which seemed to stretch on and on and on. Faintly, you can hear the sniffle of Mike's nose and know not to question him until sensing his eyes on you.

"What is it Bloodhound?" 

"Levi, Hange and Moblit...they're not that far out." 

Heaving a sigh, you lunge back from your seat and begin to climb down the tower. "I'll go and wake the others, they'll most likely want to call for a meeting of some sort." 

Mike shoots you a solid nod. "I'll greet them at the camp perimeter." 

Flashing him a hasty thumbs up, that's the last thing Mike sees of you before you huddle yourself into the cabin to wake up the seven sleeping Scouts. They're unimpressed at being awoken so early to say the least, but they're at least understanding as they manage to follow your orders of gathering around the long, stretching table whilst you prepare fresh tea.

The others make their way inside quicker than what you expect, Hange more grave faced than what you would have liked to see as you passed a hot cup of tea into her hands which she clutched close to her chest gratefully. Levi regards the beverage with cautious eyes, but watching the younger Scouts as well as Hange and Moblit drink it without a complaint (Mike had declined after proclaiming himself to be a man of coffee) he too decides to give it a try. He gives no indication that he approves outright, but the fact he sips from the cup a second time a few moments later confirms your suspicions that he likes the drink. 

Your heart soars. 

"Well?" You prompt, leaning against the back wall with Mike mirroring your stance at your side, hips bumping against one another as you both stared more specifically at Hange who sighed into her tea.

"Pastor Nick...is dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rather like this chapter, I don't know why though XD 
> 
> Apologies for any errors made~


	26. Here I Am.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past is dug up for more than just one Scout it seems. Levi's furious about more than one thing and you're in too deep to figure out why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does include some heavy scenes, so please read with caution!

Nifa is a young, fiery, red haired Scout who harbours an admirable amount of passion and you can tell all that just from the way she salutes those gathered in the room. Levi unravels the message sent directly to him from Erwin and although you yourself are itching to read what is written, you know it is not your place. 

"We move. Now. Erase all traces of us ever being here." 

Levi's words should evoke a sense of urgency within you, but strangely enough, you slink to follow orders, gracefully at ease despite the slow brewing of something indescribable which clung fiercely to the bottom of your stomach. Wrong. Something was wrong. From the second you saw those red clouds setting the sky alight you knew to fear something. You're useless as of current, the sensation isn't taking you anywhere, it's just telling you to be cautious and vigilante. To be ready. 

So as you look out over the camp from the hilltop you all stand upon, watching members of the Military Brigade Police forcefully enter the very cabin you were moments ago stood inside leaves a bitter taste exploding across your tongue. 

"That was close." Connie breathes, wide eyed as he too stared down at the camp. "If we hadn't left right then, who knows what would have happened to us." 

"But why? What would make Commander Erwin...?" Reflexively, Armin twists to look to you, but it's Levi who pushes his way into the blondes line of sight and speaks. Sparing you the need to think up an answer in reply. 

"New orders came from the government. There's been a freeze on all Scout Regiment activity outside of the walls. They're telling us to hand over Eren and Historia." 

"By the way," your attention instantly snaps to Nifa who begins to speak. "Right after he gave me the message, the military police came for him." 

"That's treating him like some kind of criminal!" Hange exclaims, momentarily forgetting the effect which her words will have on you as you reach behind you to grip even tighter at the reins of your Mustang's bridle who snorted at the action. 

"Someone's not working from the shadows anymore, they're moving for all eyes to see." 

Hange turns to the Lance Corporal the same moment everybody else but you do. "To go that far to protect the wall's secret...what's more, why do they want us to hand over Eren and Historia?" She holds her chin between her fingers. "Not to kill, but to obtain?" 

"Who knows. We can't loiter around here. We've got to move them both to the Trost District." 

Moblit finally breaks his silence. "Why? That's the same place Pastor Nick was killed." 

Levi's gaze flickers briefly on you before looking back to Hange and Moblit. "Moving towards the interior will be worse. With Trost in panic, it should be easy to slip in and if somehow it comes down to it, we can use these in the city." A simple shift of Levi's cloak reveals the ODM gear hung at his waist. The action causes you to shift your own. "Plus, not knowing who the enemy is either puts us in a tough spot. We have to find out who we're up against soon. Hange, lend me some of your Squad." 

"Of course. I will go after Erwin. Mike, Moblit, with me. The rest of you with Levi and Smith." 

Some eyes shift on to you, but they're surprised to find you atop of your Mustang's back, reins clasped with bleached knuckles as you reared your head back, almost as if you were listening out for something none of the others could hear nor detect.

"Captain Smith?" Nifa calls your name tentatively. 

Your nose twitches. Damn, you'd been hanging around Mike too much. "I need to go." 

"Huh? Wait, what?" Nifa scrambles to halt your horse, and the glower which you send the Scout's way leaves her stuttering in fear. She retreats back in an instant, only to be replaced with Levi who held no qualms with gripping onto your wrist and yanking so you leaned over the side of your horse and hung slightly over him. 

"This isn't the time to be selfish runt, so get your head out of your ass and come back down to Earth. We're doing this my way."

You hiss at him, bared teeth and all. The show does nothing to deter the man in front of you though so as a last minute resort, you forcefully tear yourself out of his grasp. But even then, he's reluctant to let you go, grip tightening before he, as a last minute decision, released you.

"Erwin will be fine."

"Erwin's not who I'm worrying for right now." 

Levi furrows his brows slightly. "Then who?" 

"You. Alina. Marie." You scrunch your nose and straighten your back. "Two of those three cannot protect themselves though, so it's my job to be there and do just that for them. Something's wrong Levi...I can feel it." 

"You're being irrational." 

You grimace at Levi's lack of understanding, looking to Mike for some aid on the matter. The Bloodhound strides over to the Lance Corporal's side, locking eyes with you and seemingly sharing something telepathically before exchanging a mutual nod.

"Go." Is all he orders. 

"Oi! Zacharias!" 

Mike ignores Levi. "Go now. While you can, you may not have long." 

Relief floods your chest, and although you're leaving Levi angered and beyond pissed, you know it will all work out in the end, or you hope it will, as you flash a reassuring smile to the younger Scouts who all appear to be anxious before pressing your heel into the side of your horse and jolting forward in a speeded trot. 

The travel back to Trost isn't a relaxing one by any means, it's one filled with trepidation and wishful thinking as your trusted steed carried you rapidly across the grassy fields and towards the packed District. Your stomach bubbles with an ugly feeling too strong to ignore and just like the time it led you to save Mike, you were hoping you'd caught it quick enough to save the two charitable souls who had also managed to at one point save you. 

It pays well to have connections you realise, a loving Father and his young, teen daughter offer to look after your horse and give him a place to rest in their own private stables for no fee at all as you arrived upon the District. Good deeds won you favours, and you were surprised to find the two still remembered your face and what you had done for them all those years ago. Your Mustang is more than happy to be left with them, content within the heated stables around other dozing horses as you bid the two a frantic, rushed 'thank you' before racing off down the streets of Trost. 

It feels wrong to be back here so soon, and you hate the fact that you're stumbling to a halt outside this cosy looking home on such negative grounds. You wrap your knuckles against the oak door, once, twice, three times. No answer. The door creaks open. Your heart jumps violently in your chest. Hesitantly, you push it open and peer around the edge of it, looking for either of the two as you were initially met with the smell of soup and burning firewood. There's a lack of light you notice, the only source being that of the sun which peaked it's way through the clumsily drawn curtains, streaking against the floor in beams and doing a shoddy job of warding off the darkness. 

The floorboards creak beneath your weight as you press forward, delving further into the house and finding it strangely empty. Had they gone to the market?

No.

You freeze the second your boot connects with something. A quick glance down is all it takes and suddenly you're spiralling, horror etching it's way across your face as Alina's head shifted against the light force of your carelessly placed step. She's sprawled across the threshold of the living room, body turned as if she had been frantically trying to race away from something. 

There's blood. There's so much blood. 

And Marie. Little Marie who's still wrapped up in her Mother's protective grasp, with her face buried against her Mother's stomach which was as equally staunched in blood as what the wood of the flooring by Alina's head was. You blanch, legs trembling and ready to give way beneath you if it weren't for the way your shaking fingers held onto the doorway entry.

Dead. They were both dead. You were too late. 

A strangled sob is inches from clawing it's way up your throat when a distant clatter is heard in the next room over. Like a predator pouncing for it's prey, you lunge for it immediately, catching the fluttering ends of blonde hair and something silver before it's fled through an open window. 

You're pissed. No if anything, you're beyond pissed.

Livid, you hop onto the window ledge and crouch low, counting three, steady breaths before pouncing and releasing the wires of your ODM gear at the same time you tear away your uniform cloak. 

Like a previously caged animal released freely to the wild, your body bends and curves under the power of the speed you're travelling at. There's nothing graceful nor beautiful about the way you move through the air, if anything, it's a lethal dance which you have begun and slowly, ever so slowly, you're working on fixing your prey in a web too strong to escape from. 

It's a simple game of cat and mouse with the blonde being the slightest bit more slower with her gear in comparison to you. She wasn't as experienced as you. That much was obvious. And so you have no issue with drawing your blades as soon as you do, you haven't killed a human before, but today would be a good place to start with her being an exemplary.

You hope to make quick work of her, but you want to make it hurt, so even when she turns, albeit roughly with a firearm in her hold, you do not waver. No doubt that was what she had used to kill Alina and Marie. The mere sight of it made you burn hot red with anger. 

"So I was right in assuming I was being tailed since arriving back in Trost the other day."

"It's nothing personal." The blonde replies, and the dead edge to her voice makes you all the more irritated. "Orders are orders." 

"And those two civilians back there?" You gesture harshly back towards the homey house which would never quite be the same now. "Were they orders too?" 

"They stood in the line of justice. They wouldn't tell me what I wanted to hear about you." 

"A child though! One of them was a mere child! How much of a threat could she have been?" You're trembling again, but this time it's with rage. The slats of the roof you stand upon shift and clatter beneath your weight and at any point now the blonde could be risking you lunging forward once more. 

"I couldn't let her escape, what, with her potentially having the chance to relay the fact back that you were being hunted out. She was a risk." 

"She was a child!" You snarl, blades flung upwards and body tilting as you readied yourself to pounce. "I'm here now ain't I? Come and get me governmental rat!" 

The collision was explosive, the barrel of a firearm connecting roughly with a savagely swung blade, the impact so dramatic that sparks flared in an instant from chafing metal. You peer into the blonde's eyes, and finally, it clicks on who she is. You know this woman. 

"Traute Caven." You hum just before the two of you break connection and jump back once more. "Knew I'd seen your face before." 

She raises a single brow.

You shrug dismissively. "I have my ways of getting the information what I want Miss Caven, and can I just say, it would be my pleasure to bring an end to you." 

"Not going to happen." She barks back. "I'm doing this because I believe in his dream." 

"His?" You cock your hip and swing once more, ignoring the trigger which she was about to pull because you believed you would get the hit in first. "Ah, you mean-" 

The trigger is pulled, and for a shocked moment you can do nothing but stare at the incoming bullet flying your way. Terror twists your gut because you know you won't be able to dodge it in time. 

None of that matters though.

Not when a hand is gripping all too familiarly at the back of your collar and pulling you backwards against the chimney of the house you stood upon. Startled, Traute retreats at the sight of more reinforcements on your side, leaving you to gape at the sudden appearance of Levi and Nifa.

You squirm, restless in his hold. "No! Levi, I had her! Let me go, you don't understand, she killed-" 

"Oi!" His voice snaps you silent instantly. The look in his eyes contrasts the authoritative tone in his voice however. If Levi was looking at you like this, you didn't dare to look towards Nifa who was more than likely looking upon you with sympathy laden eyes. It knocked you sick. "I get it." His hands are locked on either of your biceps, keeping you down. "I get it okay. We'll get her, alright? I assure you. But right now, we've got bigger fish to fry." 

"No. No. Levi, listen to me. It's not the Military Police we're dealing with. I read up on them a while back when they were still in the beginning stages of forming. They're a bigger threat, we need to-"

"Captain," Nifa interrupts you, leaning slightly over the ledge of the roof. "The wagon is almost moving again." You cast your eyes down, and it doesn't take a genius to know that Historia and Eren are inside that wagon. 

Levi can feel the way your muscles quiver in anticipation, his grip subconsciously tightening on you as he turned to look at the red head Scout. 

"Nifa, have you heard about Kenny the Ripper?" 

You jolt at the name, Levi fixes you with a hard look.

"The mass-murderer of the capital? The one that slit the throats of a hundred Military Police? That's just an urban legend from years ago, right?" 

You duck your head against Levi's chest at the sound of Nifa's words, hand coming up to grip at the fabric of the Lance Corporal's cloak like it was some form of a life line. 

"He is real, and the stories are true. I lived with him for awhile when I was a kid." 

She pales. "What? Why would you even say that? This isn't the time to be making jokes." 

Levi doesn't reply, but from his face alone you can see that he's deep in thought. There's something running rampant in that mind of his, and it surfaces in the form of Nifa's voice which he shouts frantically. 

She doesn't get to reply. 

A bang echoes through your ears and leaves them ringing as the Lance Corporal drags himself around the other side of the house chimney and hauls you alongside with him. A gasp shoves it's way up your throat at the blood which flies, Nifa's half existing body dropping useless against the slats of the roof.

Dead. Just like that. 

"Yo, Levi. You grown any yet?" 

A sudden ambush of soldiers fill the air, but they're not the standard Military Police. They're all wearing the same uniform which Traute was wearing earlier and briefly you spot her to the West of the District. You grind you teeth, ignorant to the man who flings himself over head atop of both you and Levi until he's speaking again and that damn voice sounds way too familiar for it be coincidental. 

"Oh? It doesn't look like you changed at all!" 

Your heart stops. Dread filling every inch of you as you stared up at the very man you wished you would never be pitted against. You're praying that you're wrong, and that he just looks scarily similar, yet Levi's piercing bellow is the very thing to confirm your suspicions and it leaves you hollow. 

"KENNY!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	27. Hunt To Kill.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're outnumbered and the Military Police think they've got you beat. Silly fools. Don't they know who you are?

A dull, resonating tick echoes every other second within your own head. It's counting down towards something for which you do not know but when it finally chimes you know the result will be catastrophic. There's a certain level of fragility to you, not exactly a delicate, hand picked flower, but more along the lines of a bomb which threatens to detonate at any given moment. Levi treads about you carefully, hyperaware to the way you stew and boil within your own crammed emotions all the whilst mindlessly listening to the useless drivel Kenny Ackerman was throwing your way.

Kenny Ackerman. Who'd have thought you would be facing him on opposing sides in this day and age? 

It's in times like these where his words come rolling back to you, ringing inside your head and too loud to ignore. There's a distant, far away look in your eye, one which garners both Ackerman's attention in a heartbeat and leaves them fixated on the expression so foreign it rendered them speechless. Your head lolls to the side, body inching further and further over the jut of the rooftop which you were prepared to drop from with no given warning whatsoever. 

'In this world, it's take or be taken.' 

"Well, little pup. What a surprise it is to see you here."

You refuse to acknowledge Kenny, instead locked onto the blonde in the far distance who had yet to sense your searing gaze. You edge closer over the ledge more and more, like a stalking cat ready to pounce for it's unassuming prey. 

"Say...Kenny..." your voice is a low drawl, sickly sweet but poisoned and toxic, so much so that Levi felt his skin crawl at the sound of it. "Your second in command...how much is she worth?"

"Huh?" There's no elegance in Kenny's reply.

"Would you miss her if she was dead? Is she powerful? Strong? Could you find somebody like her again?" 

"She's one of a kind!" Kenny barks, but it's too lightheaded. He snaps his chin down to look intently upon you. "You're a hundred years too early to be taking on Caven though little pup, I'll tell you that now."

"If I catch her...is she mine for the taking?" 

Kenny bristles slightly, but covers his grimace with a tightly pulled smirk. "If you can catch her? Yeah, she's all yours!" 

You smile a deathly grin. "She's a dead woman if I catch her." Finally, you drop, and the lethal dance begins once more. Briefly, you hear the tell tale sound of a firearm explode and spare a glance over your shoulder, watching the way Levi evades the shot like it's nothing with a shrug of his cloak and a careless fling of one of his blades. The dance therefore begins for him too. 

You go spiralling through the air, and with the image of Alina and Marie fresh in your mind, it doesn't take you long to crash upon the blonde. The assault happens all too quickly for Traute to even comprehend it, your blade slashing down and pulling the skin of her face open from the tip of her mouth to the hanging lobe of her ear. Traute yells at the excruciating pain but her comrades lying close in waiting within the perimeter teeter, nervous to engage in close combat with you because your reputation precedes you and they knew explicitly well just how ruthless you could be. 

"C'mon little government rat, entertain me for awhile. I don't want to kill you just yet." 

"Pesky hindrances should know when to just roll over and play dead." She hisses back. 

"Dead?" You echo Traute's words back to her, brandishing your blades at either of your sides and walking with one foot poised in front of the other. Now this...this was beauty. But it was a deadly kind of beauty. "You mean like the kind of dead you left Alina and Marie? Two innocent civilians who you murdered in cold blood?"

Caven doesn't reply, just removes her cupped hand from the bleeding slash to her face and twists her body to throw a perfectly targeted kick towards your solar plexus. The hit sends your unbalanced body flying backwards, breath snatched from you and a horrid wheeze torn from your throat as you curled over and heaved for air. 

"Clever. You've clearly done your research." Tugging up the material of your shirt, you present the fading bruises across your skin to Caven who doesn't look the least bit surprised. That's because she already knew. Already knew of your wounds and injuries, that therefore meant she'd done some background reading. "If you already done your homework though, what required you to take a trip to Alina's and Marie's house like what you did?" 

"Your activity with them was strange. From what I could access, no files on Humanities Hidden Soldier ever detailed you having connections to civilians." 

You hum, twisting the handle of one of your blades around the knuckles of your hand.

"You're not wrong there...I thought I could risk making an exception with them," you purse your lips. "I guess not." 

You pounced, hackles up and teeth bared as Traute ducked down low beneath an arching bridge whilst you personally swung your way over it. The blonde is quick, there's no denying that, but she's sloppy, movement jerky and angled and it wasn't due to lack of experience which you had previously assumed. It was due to fear, and it controlled Caven like a feeble marionette doll, strings pulled and yanked here and there to dance a sick kind of dance. An unprepared kind of one.

An explosion sounds suddenly, back towards the centre of the district, and it yanks not only your attention but Caven's too, who, without hesitation, frantically darts back in the predicted direction. She's eager to slip through your outstretched, metaphorical grasp and finds solace in the appearance of her Captain and Commander. Kenny lies still outside a blown out tavern, hat covering his face which was no doubt pinched in pain. Levi's doing. It had to be.

"You really going to stand up to me pup?" 

Kenny isn't looking at you, but he knows you're there, watching atop of a nearby rooftop, even if he's still sprawled across the ground.

"Turn the skills I myself taught you against me? That's just cold. You shouldn't bite the hand which feeds."

You shrug. "Well when that same hand is preventing me from feeding myself, something has to be done." 

Kenny ambles abruptly to his feet, gun all of a sudden brandished and poised like your words had truly struck him somewhere and managed to evoke a response so enraged that it took you by surprise. 

"Ungrateful brat." His finger trembles closer towards the trigger and it's pulled. You however stand stock still, watching with dead eyes as the rapid firing projectile flies straight for you. 

"Don't be so reckless." His words caress the shell of your ear in a hushed murmur, arm protectively clasped around your waist as you faintly registered the action of being hauled away from the incoming bullet and back across Trost district. "We've got priorities here runt, you know that, don't you?"

Stunned, you nod, reaching up in his hold to cradle his chin between your fingers and angle his face to inspect the gash along his hairline. 

"Levi, you're-"

The Ackerman shakes his head. "Not important right now. It isn't that big of a deal. We've got to locate Eren and Historia as well as seize back the wagon." 

"Captain!" 

Both you and Levi snap your heads upwards at the sound of the bellowed title, finding the younger Scouts stationed atop of nearby rooftops and anxiously awaiting new orders. 

"Chase the wagon!" The Lance Corporal finally releases you, looking to Mikasa who swiftly moves to his other side. "Listen up! They're used to fighting people, they've already got three of ours. If we're going to get those two back, you can't hesitate! If you get the chance, you kill. Got it?"

Mikasa nods sharply. "Roger." 

Levi easily pulls the driver from the wagon, only for him to be replaced with another from the Military police. You grimace, slicing through a fast approaching enemy like she was nothing only to turn and pick up on the Lance Corporal's orders. 

"Armin! Jean! Secure the wagon, we'll cover for you!" 

The two descend immediately upon the wagon, startling the female driver who turns with a gun cocked, ready to shoot. You blanch at the motion, seconds away from intervening when Mikasa beats you to the jump and knocks the enemy clean over. A blade is held precariously close to her neck, but Jean's hesitation is clear as day. 

"Fucksake." You snarl, ready to swoop down when sparks fly and his blade is flung away by the same woman who now holds a gun over both Jean and Armin. "Shit. Jean!" 

An explosion sounds and it's not from the weapon what you expect it to be. A body drops and you're looking towards Armin who's grimacing with tears in his eyes, gun gripped between shaking hands as he looked about ready to throw up. You're so caught up inside your own head you miss the three incoming threats, only catching the tail end of their introduction as Jean and Armin are ripped clean from the wagon and replaced by the three who travelled through the over arching gate and out of the Trost District. Eren and Historia now in the opposing sides possession. 

You land beside Levi, flushed and panting as the two Ackerman's glared past the opening. 

"Fall back for now. We need a new plan of action."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long awaited update! I've finally finished for Christmas break so I'm hoping to get a few more chapters uploaded before I return in the New Year. 
> 
> As usual, apologies for any errors made~


	28. Is This War?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Realisation finally sets in and Levi's there to witness it all.

Levi doesn't know where you disappear off to in that next moment, but what he does know is that the next time he sees you, you're much too pale for it to be considered normal and you're caked in soil and dirt. So much so that the mere sight of it all makes his nose scrunch in disgust. 

There's a stream out back of the stable where you'd left your Mustang and where Team Levi were currently staking out, the water reflecting your rippled reflection which you paid a vague amount of attention to. Another image is cast alongside your own, but you care very little for it, mind too far away and projected back to the very instance you stumbled upon the one scene you wished you could scrub from your mind as it replayed itself over and over and over again. It knocked you sick. Stomach churning and burning alight with emotions too wild to suppress, muscles quivering and bunched together tightly beneath the itching material of your uninform. Sensitive. You felt too sensitive, like an exposed nerve, vulnerable and fragile. Delicate. It infuriated you to no end. 

"They were innocent people Levi...and she killed them." 

He says nothing. Doesn't even move to acknowledge that he'd heard your words because he didn't need to. You knew he'd heard you after catching the slight hitch in his throat and the masked twitch of his fingers. You're too much of a coward to look him in the eye, scared that he'll be able to see right through you like he'd always been able to and detect the raw, scarred emotions lying just beyond those wavering orbs of yours. The water flows on all the same, and you wonder if life will too carry on all the same once you finally depart from the Earth. Such a grim thought, but there again, wasn't that all what death brought along anyway? Nothing but grievances, periods of mourning and depressing, wandering thoughts. 

"There are no nice guys in war." 

There's a cascading ripple which filters out across the water, a single teardrop falls and is followed closely by a muffled sniffle you do your upmost best in trying to conceal. Levi hears you anyway, and his jaw clicks tightly in place as a result. You raise your hand, covered by the sleeve end of your Scout's jacket and wipe away the evidence of your sadness with a scratchy hiccup that leaves Levi feeling well out of his depth. What was he to do? 

"They were killed because of me. They died protecting me! Two civilians...I'm supposed to be strong. I'm a Scout, I was supposed to protect them." Scoffing, you grit your teeth and bite down on your tongue to swallow down the threatening whimper, eager to pry back your pride whilst in the presence of Levi. "They're dead," you reiterate. "And it's all my fault." 

Levi lifts his arms, and you can hear the catching scratches of his shirt as the material chafes against itself. His hands lock onto your own and before you can even blink, he's spun you around and pressed further in against you. Chest to chest, a sated blizzard meets a tear brimmed storm and for once, there's no lashing elements. No intense fires. Just...understanding. Safe, comforted understanding. Something you would expect to just sink into.

"Shut up and cool off." 

The sudden breach of the cool surface sends you reeling, desperate and gasping for raked in air as frozen needles poked and prodded at every part of your flailing body. There's no grace to it, but Levi doesn't care for any of that. He just watches your form sink to the bottom of the stream, arms still outstretched from where he had pushed you and only returning back to his sides the second you resurfaced with chattering teeth, a clinging, heavy uniform and a slightly transparent shirt. His face flamed only the slightest, more flustered than anything at the fact that he'd allowed himself the time to scan you up and down and had caught himself in the act. Stupid. Absolutely stupid. Just what the hell did he think he was doing? 

"Better?" 

You shrug, willing yourself to move towards the ledge of the path where water sloshed over the side and only just managed to brush against the Lance Corporal's booted foot. You remain within the water, leaning against the cobbled path and staring up at Levi with wide, unblinking eyes. He shifts, uncomfortable under the weight of your stare.

"What are you-" 

It isn't exactly a squawk which passes his lips, but it isn't quite a growl either. Nonetheless, the look which the Ackerman gives you is absolutely scathing as you latch onto his ankle and pull with all your might, tugging his body over the path edge and into the awaiting, cold body of water which attacks him the first chance it gets. Levi on the contrary doesn't flail like you had done annoyingly enough, he instead finds his balance at your side almost instantly and the moment the water settles around you both...he strikes. 

His hand cups the back of your head and that action is enough to send your heart sky rocketing and your mind whirring. Levi however, like the cunning fiend he is, no doubt can tell what kind of effect that mere move has over you and is more than happy to snap you callously back to reality by pushing down on your head and shoving you back down beneath the surface of the water. You gulp, convulsing against the onslaught of the cold once more but are stunned and breathless when Levi pulls himself under too and all of a sudden you're taking in the way his hair stands above him and the way his clothes flutter softly against his figure. 

Not fair. It was all too unfair. 

Foolishly, you inhale, and are all too soon spluttering for breath when an influx of water floods your system and leaves you burning from the inside out. Oh shit. Hunching over yourself, it's like you try to physically ward of the very thing which surrounds you from all aspects as your knees press in on your chest which stings from the weight of your incessant coughing. No air. You had no air. 

When precisely Levi gets a hold over you you're not exactly sure, but what you are aware of is the way he pulls you in close to him and wraps you up in his arms, surging upwards to break through the stream surface and heave you both out and onto the cobble path. Without thought, you curl into Levi's side, seeking immediate warmth even though the Lance Corporal possessed a scant amount of it himself. Spluttering and coughing, Levi pulls you between his legs and rests one hand against your back which he rubs soothing circles against, refusing to look at you and instead gazing past your shoulder as you pried back your composure. 

"What sort of idiot doesn't know that they shouldn't inhale water?"

"Shut up," you grumble, covering your mouth with one hand and rubbing at your stinging eyes with the other. "I was taken by surprise, that's all." 

"Surprise? What could have possibly taken you by surprise exactly?" Levi finally glances down at you and arches a brow to further add to his point. You flush under his stare.

"Nothing! It doesn't matter! Forget I ever said anything!" You push back from the Lance Corporal, ambling to your own two feet with a slight stumble all the while snaking your arms around yourself in hope of preserving some heat. It was a useless attempt, but it did evoke some form of pity from Levi who, as a compromise, placed himself as close to your side as possible in order to share a small form of radiating body heat. "Let's go," you try to play the entire ordeal of. "The kids are looking over that old man, aren't they?" 

Levi exhales a heavy breath. "Yeah." 

"Dimo Reeves." You nod with pursed lips whilst ducking through the stable entry.

The Ackerman jerks his head to look at you just as the other younger Scouts come into view who are all in some shape or form gathered around the plump looking man who's tied up, courtesy of Sasha and Connie. 

"You know him?" 

Humming, you nod. "Yeah." Moving swiftly now, not even the soaking material of your uniform does much to deduct from the intimidating light which Dimo sees you in as you squat down in front of him and grin widely like a cat that got the cream. "Me and Dimo are the best of buds. We go way back, ain't that right?" 

In contrast to your light-hearted words, Reeves begins to blubber behind the white gag at his mouth, trembling and mumbling something which sounded a lot like 'please' to yours and everybody else's ears around you. 

"You're going to talk for us now aren't you Reeves?" You arch a single brow, slightly amused at the way said man nods frantically. "Good."

You pull down the gag, conscience of Levi who stood at your side and the group of towering Scouts who all stood crowded to the back of you. Reeves visibly paled. 

"Now start talking."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	29. Tooth And Nail.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It neither Levi nor Hange who Sannes should fear. It's you.

"We were just following orders the Military Police forced on us, and failed big time. They'll plunder the Reeves company for all that it's worth. They won't stop at just me and my stupid son either, they'll make sure all the employees die in so-called 'accidents'." 

You lean back, pressed in slightly against Levi's leg who glowered at the plump man who too didn't look that impressed to be there. None of you were. It wasn't a situation any of you wanted to be in. Eren and Historia had been captured, you hadn't the faintest clue as to what was happening with Erwin and to top it all off you had the death of two innocent civilians resting on your conscience. Lovely.

Levi plants his hands at his hips. "So you'll die without a fight? Trost should have collapsed by now, but it's preserved. That's because the Reeves company brings people and work together. But if the company was gone for good just how few would survive the winter?"

Dimo peers forward. "Are you suggesting I team up with you?" 

"We just need to know where Eren and Historia are. If you're supplying the Military Police, we can figure something out." 

You finally heave yourself up, looking down your nose at Reeves who avoided your stare as best as he physically could, fearful of the very gaze which seemed to pierce through his soul.

"But can you stop my city and employees from dying of starvation?"

Levi drops to a kneel in the very same spot you were just sat in, the roles reversed now as he partially brushed the side of your leg with his lowered shoulder, ODM gear clattering slightly against the stable floor. He shakes his head.

"I can't guarantee that, however you can trust that we'll move towards that end."

Reeves is both efficient and swift in acting, much to your appreciation and it isn't long before you've successfully got both Sannes and Ralph of the Military Police confined in separate places within a rundown, looked over shack. It must have been used in the past by some form of authority you were sure, but who exactly you didn't know. 

What you did however know was that there was a perfectly good cellar chamber ready to be used and Levi was fully prepared to optimise on it. Hange upon arriving with Moblit and Mike at her sides was quick to race down there too, flashing you a quick arch of her brows before leaving you to practically babysit the wallowing Scouts of the 104th. You couldn't blame them for being so solemn, not really anyway. There's very little for you to say, seated cross legged atop of the table directly in the middle where you could easily look over each of their grim faces. Armin speaks, but his words don't really compute, you're too distracted with gingerly tracing the stitches across your forehead which were long overdue to come out since the fight at Stohess with the female titan.

A scream rattles the building, and unlike you, the younger Scouts flinch at the deafening sound, foreign to the idea that it was a human down there causing immense pain to another human. 

"How ironic," you muse, kicking out to fling yourself off of the table and back onto steady ground. "A torturer being tortured." Your announcement is a grim one, but you succeed in dragging their attention back onto you and away from potentially dwelling on what was happening right below their feet.

"That doesn't make it right." 

You glance Armin's way and hum in response to his words. "No, that's true. Two wrongs don't make a right, I can agree with you there." You move your gaze from Armin to look over all of the gathered teens. "But listen to me all of you." You're met with heavy gazes and distant eyes. "There are no nice guys in war. The sooner you accept that, the better. Do I make myself clear?" 

They nod, as if controlled to do so, and you know it's not the best thing to be expecting of them right now, but you're wanting to avoid the shock which will more than likely hit in the near future if they don't come to grips with this all now.  
Your head swivels at the sound of nearing footsteps, Mike's frame passing into the light with Moblit trailing behind him who both didn't look too pleased. You greet him with an incline of your chin. 

His lips draw tight. 

You frown. 

"They need you down there." That's all he tells you, but that's all he needs to say as you drop a comforting hand on Armin's shoulder before breezing past the second in command and towards the descending stairs which lead you towards the very source of both whimpers and cries of pain. You don't even falter. 

The door whines as you push it open, forearm braced against the cool metal of it as you peeked a hesitant head around the opened crack before shuffling your way inside. 

Hange's huffing and puffing, dissatisfied no doubt at the lack of information she has so far retrieved and growing more and more irritated at realising she was getting nowhere. Levi's lacking more to the background, caked in the shadows but still leaning towards the light only in the slightest. Just enough so that you caught the split surface to the skin of his knuckles and the swelling around which would no doubt darken and bruise in an hour or two.

Well, that answered how Sannes' face had become so ballooned and puffy. He hacks through a bloody cough, glaring at you through his one good eye as the other was sealed shut. You beam at him, innocent and oblivious which seemed to infuriate him all that much more. 

"Seems to me that someone's had a good go at you." His one eye roves over you, from the stitches in your forehead, the messy wrapping around your forearm and the faintly visible, fading bruises past the material of your uniform shirt. Sannes sneers, spitting blood at your feet but the action does very little to deter you. 

"Still looking better than you Sannes," your voice is a sultry purr, and it evokes a strangled sob of rage from the man constrained to the chair who attempts to lurch forward with fisted hands. "I'm hoping Hange here was good enough to give you one of the best accessible manicures? She is, of course, the best of the best and you only deserve the best." 

"Fuck you." 

You click your tongue in distaste, brushing past Hange and ignoring the subtle way Levi edged to reach for you the instant Sannes tried to snap forward and hit you. Not like he could, and for a moment it seemed Levi had forgotten that, flustered and annoyed with himself as he sunk back into the shadows. You suppressed the smirk threatening to tug at your lips. Settling directly before the Military Police member, you idly reach for a pair of pliers which leaves Sannes trembling in his very seat, gaze locked on the tool which hung limply in your hold. 

"I hope you will cooperate with me." Your tongue pokes the inner side of your cheek in thought. "Otherwise this is going to be extremely painful for you and a drag for me."

Sannes rears his head back in fear but bites his lower lip almost as if a symbol of his sworn silence. You smile at the gesture.

"Where are Eren and Historia?" 

Silence. You try again.

"Why are you after Historia?" 

Nothing. One last attempt.

"Who are the Reiss family?" 

His mouth is firmly locked, but you've just about had enough. Three chances was surely a fair amount. Therefore the forceful action of your fingers pushing past Sannes' lips makes him gag, his tongue pulled out of his head and seized between your thumb and forefinger as you raised the pliers with your other free hand. 

"I did warn you," ignoring the way he gargles, you knock his head back and widen his jaw, inspecting the two rows of teeth he had to offer. "Now which one?" You scrunch your nose, closely scrutinising each and every tooth before deciding on the first top right molar. The pliers are cold against his cheek, and although saliva gathers at your fingertips, you do not feel any form of disgust. So caught up in yourself, the process of latching the tool around his tooth and yanking with all your might seems way too easy. 

He howls in agony, snapping forward and flexing his arms against the tied ropes as his first initial reaction would have been to cup and cradle the area inflicted with sudden pain. The tooth pried from his mouth is displayed like some form of a trophy in your hold, still clasped between the two tongues of the pliers as you thoroughly inspected it before discarding it across the blood splattered floor, listening to the way it clattered and skidded. 

"Now, let's try this again!" You shift to stand directly before Sannes once more, pliers hung over him in warning all the while Levi and Hange pressed further inwards, the intimidating air suffocating the soldier who gasped and gurgled around a mouth full of crimson. Face souring at the metallic taste. You repeat yourself. "Where are Eren and Historia?" 

Three more teeth later, Sannes finally starts talking, but it's not exactly what you want to hear.

"Oopsie." You huff, throwing away another tooth which had cracked upon impact. "You can tell we're nowhere near as good as you. You've been doing this for how long?" 

"I lost count a long time ago. Do you have any idea why there has yet to be a war within the confines of these walls? It's because we in the First Interior Squad dirtied our hands to protect the peace. That teacher who was too smart for his own good, the airheaded couple determined to fly, even that whore from some ranch in the sticks! Humanity has only survived because we erase people like them! You should be thanking us! I've never seen anyone get more pleasure out of torture than you guys! You're monsters! But I'm not afraid, I...I believe in the King. I believe in the King and the peace he brought to the walls. I believe that the things we've done were justified. But...I had no idea it hurt this much."

You're gritting your teeth and shaking in rage, more than ready to lunge forward and kill the bastard then and there but Levi's got a solid grip on you, anchoring you down and keeping you back as Sannes' words anger you more and more. 

"Go on and torture me to death already. It would be the most fitting end to the bloodstained life I lived."

You slacken in Levi's grip and like a fool he believes you've pulled yourself together. He removes his hold, albeit reluctantly, but regrets it the minute he does because you pounce in an instant. All Sannes can see in that moment is the sole of your boot which slams against his face, the sheer power of your kick being enough to topple his chair over and elicit a sharp cry of pain from him. 

"Don't," you heave around your words, feeling like you're going to be sick as you shudder. "Don't you dare talk about him. Too smart for his own good? He was a man who was his own person and who didn't believe in none of the fucked up propaganda the government tries to feed everybody! Unlike you, he wasn't a blindsided dog who wordlessly followed the next asshole who walked by with enough power to flaunt!"

You lean over him now, ignorant to the way Sannes begged for mercy as all you saw was red up until the exact point in time a rough hand wove it's way between your own and seemed to zap you back to reality. You jerk yourself back to glance over your shoulder, meeting the soft but sturdy gaze of Levi who tugged you bit by bit to his side. You allow him to, body slack and tired as you regarded Sannes one last final time, stare so scathing it left him choked up as Hange yanked the chair he was strapped to back up. 

"You're worthless. So much so that you wouldn't even be worth feeding to the goddamn titans." 

Spinning, you stalk flawlessly from the cellar room, metal door swung savagely open and footsteps heavy as you all but stomped your way back up the steps. 

Levi and Hange instantaneously turn towards Sannes' pale form, Hange grimacing all the while Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"Let's take a break for now."

You catch Levi and Hange escorting Ralph down towards the cellar, a piece of parchment clutched within Hange's hands and it didn't take no genius to figure out what their plan was to do next. You don't stick around to watch, if anything, you escape to fresh air, mouthing for lungfuls of it as you hunched over and tried your hardest not to retch. Your throat burns and your eyes sting, everything nothing more than a blur as you slid down to the dewy coolness of the grass and pulled at it in clumps. 

Head thrown back, you rest against the side wall of the shack, legs drawn in close to your chest as your eyes slipped closed and your chest dropped in even rise and falls. It had been so long since you had last managed to fall asleep, the effects of everything catching up to you finally so you had no choice but to leave yourself vulnerable and fragile here as sleep dragged you under. 

In reality, you're not asleep for that long. Not when you sense yourself being lifted ever so gingerly, a slight rustle or two jostling you awake as the smell of cologne and alcohol fills your nose. You blearily peer upwards, line of sight being filled with Mike's twitching nose and his disapproving, parent looking eyes. You huffed softly in his hold, already knowing what to expect.

"What kind of soldier are you if you're going to let yourself sleep out in the open all exposed when we're fugitives of the law?" He raises a single brow whilst you furrow both of yours.

You grumble. "I I hadn't intended to fall asleep." 

"But you still did." Mike passes the threshold of the shack entrance, easing you down onto the ledge of the table what you were earlier sat on when speaking with the younger Scouts. "I found her." He announces, making you realise that everyone was looking slightly panicked. Had they worried you had been taken? 

"Where were you? We were worried sick you know?" Sasha moves towards you with wide eyes and tightly pursed lips, leaving you sheepish under her stare.

"My apologies. I fell asleep."

Moblit, Hange and Levi are appearing before anybody else can speak, a roll of parchment this time held in Moblit's hand as the three stood before the gathered younger Scouts, Mike and yourself. 

What is revealed next leaves you somewhat shocked because although you knew of Krista or more correctly Historia's real name and family tree, you did not know anything more. Armin does a faster job at processing the new information than anybody else.

"The true successor to the throne is Historia?" 

Hange nods. "In other words, both Eren and Historia are likely wherever Rod Reiss is." Following her words, Moblit plasters the piece of parchment to the wall, revealing a sketch of the man who you knew to be Rod Reiss, surrounded by annotated scripture. 

"This is him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had a lovely Christmas if you celebrate it!  
Apologies for any errors made~


	30. Bark And No Bite.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A run in with some Military Police occurs.

Hange, Moblit and Mike split from the group once more not that long after, and Levi takes lead of the younger Scouts with you by his side. Your group departs from the rundown shack almost instantly, and inside it do you leave your Scout Regiment jacket, no need for a concealing hood like the rest of your team because who exactly beyond the Scouts would truly recognise who you are? Being nothing more than a whisper of existence on most peoples tongues, your existence and pledged loyalty to the cause would be vital for getting not only Eren and Historia back, but also saving Erwin's and the Scout Regiment's reputation. 

As of current, Levi's got the group staking out in a forest just beyond the perimeter of the shack you all previously resided in and not too far away from the District of Trost itself. There's a stream a fair distance away from the exact area where you've all set up camp, and whilst Jean, Mikasa and Armin are on a supplies run, you sit diligently with Sasha who patches you up with meticulous care. She's managed to tug the stitches clean from your head and closely inspects the sealed wound before deeming the skin healthy enough to not need another gauze wrapping. The last thing the young hunter does is tie the bandages around your forearm in a neat knot before patting you gently on the back to signal she was done. You thank her with a swift nod.

"Captain!" Jean's voice abruptly breaks the silence of the scene, alerting you of the trio's return. "We bought the supplies." 

"The Military Police were handing these out." Armin passes a fluttering piece of paper over to Levi which makes you stand to your feet and move your way over to the seated man, glancing over his shoulder at essentially what was a wanted poster in his hold. You snort at the poor drawing of him, amused. "If this is true, the Scouts will be disbanded. I heard they'll be hunting for us tonight. They're also putting guards on all the vital roads and it's impossible to get through without a pass. Captain, what now?" 

"If we don't hurry, Eren..."

Levi cuts Mikasa off. "Calm down. They're using a wagon. It'll take at least a day to reach Reiss' territory. We'll have to use that time to come up with a plan." 

You move to reach over Levi's shoulder and grasp for the paper, but promptly freeze the same time Sasha stiffens and Mikasa snaps her head to the side.

"Captain, I hear footsteps." 

Sasha leans forward to pick up the sound better. "They're coming this way." 

The response is immediate, and it isn't Levi who takes control, but you. Your head swings around to Armin and with a soft whistle do you catch his attention, directing him with an incline of your head down to the stream of water just like how you'd previously planned. Wordlessly and full of trust, he follows, racing away all the while pulling the hood of his cloak up and over his head to shadow his identity. Next, you turn to Jean, Sasha and Connie, instructing them away from line of sight and just like how Armin had done so, they obey your silent orders instantly with the tugging of their hoods. Lastly, you turn to Levi and Mikasa who've caught on it seems and use their gear with you following close behind to reach the tree tops.  
Faintly, you can hear Armin splashing at the water and it evokes the exact reaction you were hoping for.

"Don't move!" 

You glance down, and note two young looking Military Police who have their guns cocked towards Armin. Perfect. 

"Slowly turn this way." As instructed, Armin raises his arms in 'surrender' and turns to face the two who hold him at gun point. "You must be a Scout. Just like that...not a word. Now listen to me and do as I-" 

Your signal is followed up with the two Ackerman's dropping, blades being pushed under the two young Military Police members chin as Levi barked orders. 

"That's right...hand over your guns to the one in front."

Armin seizes the weapons, dark eyes shadows still as he all but peered out at the two trembling teens. 

"And not a word. Right?" 

You're reluctant to leave the tree canopies, basked in the shadows and at a point where you felt you could clearly inspect near to all what was going on around you. Connie and Sasha are on lookout, Armin and Mikasa are stripping the two captured Military Police of all of their equipment and Jean's got something clutched in his hold which he passes over to the Lance Corporal. You inch further over the edge of tree branch you're perched upon, interested enough to listen. 

"Now then," he makes a show to stand, blade in one hand slung atop of his shoulder and stretching behind the back of his neck in a menacing gesture to the two which wasn't meant to be taken lightly. "Stohess District Military Police. Private Marlo Freudenberg." His gaze moves from the male with the bowl cut to the glaring female. "Same assignment. Private Hitch Dreyse. As for how we'll dispose of you..." 

The two jerk at the Lance Corporal's words, no doubt in fright, but it appears that his words seems to kick the girls mouth into action.

"Because of you guys over 100 people from Stohess District were killed! 

Levi pulls his head back, unimpressed and mutters one thing. "Huh?"

"Hey!" Marlo chides in warning, but his fellow colleague doesn't listen. She continues her spiel regardless. 

"You people...you might think that you're all heroes of justice, but the victims and their families were dropped straight into hell!"

"Yeah," Levi answers coldly. "I know." 

"You there...you're from the Southern Cadet Corps, yeah? Like Annie Leonhart. We're you friends of hers? No...I doubt she had any friends, being as gloomy and aloof as she was. It's like she was a kid afraid of other people. I never got the chance to know anything about her, and the reason they still haven't found her is because she was pulverised by a titan into a puddle of jelly!" 

That's enough to draw you from your hiding spot, a dark, amused chuckle flying from your lips before you could stop yourself as all eyes turned to you and you stalked your way towards the fuming, captive girl. Marlo reels his head back at the sight of you because he was sure he had accounted for you all and he hadn't heard of a plus member to Levi's team of five excluding the Lance Corporal himself. Without a care, you squat yourself down directly before the teen who huffs and puffs, an intrigued cat-like grin adorning your features as you gripped forcefully at her jaw and angled her face to look you straight in the eye.

"I never knew the Military Police had something as cute as you." Your voice is a smooth purr, and for a brief moment the girl in your hold is sated putty before she no doubt is registering what you've said and is attempting to snap herself forward and attack. She gets nowhere, her bound limbs make sure of that. "Tell me, do you have some bite to go with that bark, or are you all talk?" 

Her glare returns but it does next to nothing in deterring you, instead, it invites you to lean in closer, grasp pinching more now and hurting the young girl whose vision momentarily went out of whack. 

"Can't even tell their own members the truth? How sad the Military Police are." 

"Oi, runt." It's a disguised warning which Levi throws at you, but you pick it up regardless 

You teasingly pout your lips and leave your words to swim around the two's heads as you retreat back and stand on your feet, delighted at the way they were clearly confused by what you had said.

"What are you talking about?" 

Levi decides to answer for you, moving back to your side and staring down at the girl by his feet. "The titan in hiding was Annie Leonhart herself." The two jolt, paling considerably as the weight of what Levi had just told them hit them full force. "Goddamnit, it makes me sick. Nobody knows a damn thing about this world, not us or anyone else. Except for those bastards at the centre of it all." He finally drops the blade from his shoulder. "We'll release you both as soon as we get out of here ourselves."

You're the first to turn but freeze with your hip jutting against Levi's as a frantic voice pierced the air. Glancing over your shoulder, both you and Levi closely resemble the predators who are mere inches away from striking their prey and poor little Marlo appears desperate to be spared. 

"Captain Levi! Please let me help you! I don't think what you guys are doing is wrong! If I can help correct this world's injustice I'll do whatever it takes!" 

The sound of you humming rattles down the back of Levi's neck and leaves him standing at full attention but there's a look of disgusted disinterest painted across his face and Marlo nearly deflates under the look.

"What's with this guy?" 

"I beg of you, Captain Levi!" 

"Not a chance," his refusal is hard hitting and firm. No room for argument. "I can't tell how prepared you are of making an enemy of the government," the Lance Corporal flashes his gaze onto you. "Let's go. Sasha, tie them up somewhere nearby." 

"Yessir!"

You've lost interest by that point, breezing past the two captive Police members and disappearing back through the tree lining where Mikasa moved to stand by your side, silent and as brooding as ever. The faint mumble of Jean talking graces your ears but he's gone long before you can even think of asking what was said and that was because you already knew. Faltering, Levi kicks at the back of your heel as he passes and grumbles for you to keep moving.

"You sure you made the right call with him?" 

The Ackerman shrugs dismissively. "Who knows. He was the best one for the job though." 

He receives no reply, but that doesn't really matter because he was too lost inside his own mind anyway to have even registered the fact that you had spoke even if you did. He's staring at the scar which stains the expanse of your forehead and disappears into your hairline, the skin shining and slightly raised from where the stitches had pulled the wound back together and been later removed. It leaves his stomach churning uncomfortably and he doesn't exactly know why. 

"I hope that Hitch girl messes up." A sinister smile splits your face. "I'd love to have a reason to show her not to fuck us around." 

"We already have enough enemies as it is." Connie points out half heartedly, more concerned with not tripping over any gnarled tree roots which protruded from the ground.

"Exactly. What's one more to the list."

You're never wrong it seems, or maybe just in this instance you're not. The swelling to Jean's face confirms that once they return and the guilty look on Hitch's face confirms everything for you without an uttered word. Itching to lunge forward and drag the girl down, Levi gets to you before you can get to her, and he stops you with a firm, pinching hold on your nape. Head bowed low, you freeze at the feel of his touch, muscles bunched tight and dangerously searing where his fingertips closely brushed upwards towards the beginning of your scalp. You go lax in his hold, coils which were tightly wound now going loose and body slightly swaying back into his hand as his nails slightly pressed against your scalp.

Calm down.

You don't know if that's what you were telling yourself or if that's what Levi was communicating with you through his eyes alone, but it worked. However, not before catching the baited breath which Hitch seemed to hold and the fearful away that the chords of her throat wrung tight. Pleased. That was what you were. 

"That over there is the least manned checkpoint around." 

You all leaned in close, hidden within the trees as Marlo instructed you around what could arguably be viewed as a camp base. 

"Alright," Levi sounds slightly pleased. "We'll handle it from here ourselves. Get back to your squad before it gets suspicious."

"Yessir." 

They move to leave and your gaze is locked on every step they take.

The Lance Corporal calls out to them again. "Marlo, Hitch. We're grateful." 

They salute, and from their ramrod backs and their tensed arms, you know they mean it. 

"This time it's our turn to pick a fight." You grin at the Captain's words, giddy and drunk on anticipation. "Let's go!" 

Connie, Sasha and Jean have already scattered, Armin and Mikasa are elsewhere by the time you and Levi are sauntering boldly across the Military Police's checkpoint. The carriage controlled by Jean breaks through the guarded post with no issue at all and following that chaos breaks out all too easily it seems. 

You part from Levi's shadow and stalk your own game, eyes set on a particular man who's got a pendant around his neck which is next to near the same as the one which you would find Erwin wearing. A man in power. Bingo. 

It appears he's too absorbed in his own world to pay attention to what's going on around him, but that's all the better for you as you slip into the tent undetected and press back into the shadowed corners. He's writing, hair hanging over his shoulders and brows furrowed as the scratch of the pencil on the parchment of paper was probably all which filled his ears. 

"So the rumours are true." Scratch that. He did know you were there. "The infamous Hidden Soldier has returned for more." 

"Well," your voice is high and flighty, caught off guard by the fact that he had known all along that you were there. "There's always going to be corrupt assholes like you to deal with." 

"You think you got a shot at taking me down little soldier?" He finally stands, and although he's got a good foot or two above you in height, you do not fear him nor feel deterred. 

"I don't 'think' I've got a shot. I know I've got a shot." 

He raises a brow. "Oh? Is that-" 

His words get stuck in his throat, breath knocked clean from him as there was no grace to your tactic of throwing yourself full throttle at his open mid section. The MP drops with you on top of him, table pushed with a screeching motion backwards and files of paper scattered through the air. He snarls but you just growl back, wrestling for overhanging power as he presses forward and flings you off of him. 

Staggering backwards, you grin widely, impressed that he could offer a little bit more than a pathetic tussle of a fight. You coax him forward with a slight incline of your head and a cocky grin, inspecting the way he shifts forward all the while calculating your next move. You anticipate a sloppy, hastily thrown right uppercut and sure enough, that's what he goes for. In a heartbeat, you move to the side, arm swinging downward to collide with where his kidney would lie.

The MP folds over, bringing him down to the perfect height for you to grip onto the back of his head and yank his nose down against your pointed, poised knee. The sounding crunch is sickening, but it does very little in bothering you. What you're more focused on is the way he blindly tries to reach for your wrists and manages to snatch one, using it as leverage to throw you against the discarded table he was earlier sat at. 

The motion sends you reeling, back throbbing immediately upon impact as a hiss of pain passed through your grit teeth. He's resumed towering over you, but you know that in that moment...he's done for. Grasping at his ankles, you mirror his earlier action and yank, pulling him down to the floor and listening to the way his skull collides mercilessly against the harsh concrete. 

Down and out.

You've no thought to move just yet, heaving through the crash of your adrenaline high and tense against the thrumming pain of your back which the table made worse as you helplessly leaned against it for support. The flaps of the tent are pulled aside eventually and with them brings Levi who looks perfectly fine it seems. 

He's ignorant to the MP on the ground. Instead, flicking his eyes over you from head to toe before roving back up to your face twisted in obvious discomfort. 

"Where?" Is all he asks.

"My back. Just give me a minute, I'll be fine." 

He clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "You sure?" 

"Yes," you snap, before deflating once more. "I'm sure." 

Levi, thankfully, gives you the benefit of the doubt and just keeps watch as you gather the courage to stand once more. 

"The others are waiting for us, I sent them back to the tree lines perimeter." 

Levi grips at the collar of the passed out MP, and begins to drag him out of the tent with you following behind at his heel and watching the MP closely, fearful that he would wake up too soon and offer another problem.  
You catch the sound of a gun being cocked but do not care as Levi persists to walk in the same direction.

"It's us." He announces, coming into the sight of the younger Scouts whose eyes all turned to the man discarded at their feet.

"Captain, he's..."

"With the Interior Police. I've got a few questions for him. Let's move." 

Only when nightfalls and the moon is high in the sky do you call quits, you're seated harmlessly within the grassy fields, the younger Scouts gathered around with all of you watching the way Levi without a fuss interrogated the captured MP.

"Stop it..." he heaves, supported by the large trunk of a tree which he leaned against. 

Levi squats down low to look him in the eye. "Where are Eren and Krista?" 

"Oh, you're so brave." His voice is husky from all the yelling, and his words entice you from your seat to hobble over towards where Levi is perched. The MP blanches at the sight of you, but says nothing to your face. "That checkpoint back there was full of recruits who could barely wipe their own ass. You think you're some sort of hero, beating them down?"

The Lance Corporal stands and shares a sarcastic look of regret with you before turning back to the MP.

"What an atrocious thing we've done."

You know what's coming next, but still, you flinch when Levi's booted foot smashes into the man's mouth and knocks a tooth or two clean from his gums. The sight made your nose scrunch in disgust. 

"But what's more atrocious is that mouth of yours." The MP gargles around the squeaking leather, grasping at Levi's foot in hopes of prying him away despite knowing he was powerless in this situation. "I recomend you start talking while you're still able to use it. Where are Eren and Krista?" Finally, Levi pulls back.

"It's no use! All that's left for you now is to run and hide inside these walls, covered in mud and shit! If you don't turn yourselves in, every last Scout we captured will get the noose! Starting with the one most guilty of all, Erwin Smith!" 

A flinch of Levi's finger. That's all you catch before he's pushed you back away from the MP and acted himself. The Ackerman wrenches the MP's arm back and in between his shoulder blades where a prompt 'snap' is heard followed by a guttural scream.

"Shut up." Levi hisses before looking to you who's not moved from the very spot the Captain had pushed you into, tongue poking the inside of your cheek in suppressed anger. "That's for not answering my question. Some Scout's lives are more valuable than others. Only those dumb enough to acknowledge that join us." He releases the man once more. "Tell me where Eren and Krista are."

"I-I don't know!" The waterworks are finally going. "I'm not allowed to know! Kenny Ackerman is a very cautious man!

"Ackerman?" Levi makes a specific point of asking, and even Mikasa jolts at the name. "I know Kenny...is that his last name?"

You're all of a sudden biting nervously at the skin of your lower lip because how had Levi not known? Erwin had files in his office, files you had so easily accessed and had time to read, therefore why didn't Levi know? Why hadn't Erwin told him? 

"It is." The MP sobs. "But..."

"True, there's a lot of things he doesn't divulge...especially the important stuff. But you must have a rough idea. You best try to remember." The Captain grips the man once more and ignores the plea for him to stop. "You still have plenty of bones left to break."

"You...you're insane." 

"Maybe I am." 

Your ears perk up but not because of what Levi says. There's faint evidence of life and movement a fair distance away and once more it seems Sasha and Mikasa pick up on it first alongside you. 

Sasha draws her bow. "Someone's coming from that way! More than one." 

You all drop, Mikasa and yourself back to back with blades drawn. 

"Told you so, Captain. It's no use. One way or another, the Scouts will soon come to an end!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long awaited update! I've been studying for upcoming mock exams in college which happens next week so I've been caught up in that.  
Regardless, I really wanted to get this out. 
> 
> Per usual, apologies for any errors made~


	31. Coup d'etat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justice draws closer and you become more frantic.

The hoods are revealed and it's with a heavy, released breath do you openly welcome the idea of seeing Hange, Moblit and Mike once more. The Squadron Captain passes something over to Levi and eagerly do you move with the motion of it, pressed into the Lance Corporal's side to read what was written with the other members of the team huddled close all around. 

"And there you have it," Hange announces. "The coup d'etat was successful. Premier Zackly has control of the capital and administrative district. For the time being, the nobility hasn't rebelled."

You pull away from Levi and away from the huddled group, moving back into the shadows and away from prying eyes, doubling over and feebly clutching your stomach as a violent twist of motions sent you retching and heaving. The back of your throat burns terribly and your vision goes whack with blurring tears which you refuse to shed. 

Successful. That meant...you'd won. Right? 

Like a leaf in the breeze, you quiver and shake, ripped away from your own mind in that very moment as you simply tried to swallow down the fact that you'd won.

"Hey twerp." A paw drops atop of your head and it takes no genius to know who's towering over you right now. "You all good?" 

"Erwin." Is all you reply, voice scratchy and hoarse like you'd voiced the name around something rough and sharp. "Is he...is he okay?" Like a lost child, you glance helplessly up at Mike who scrunches his nose momentarily at the question. 

"He is." The Bloodhound nods and all at once does every single weight you've seemed to ever balance upon your shoulders drop. Your entire form slumps, knees catching against the dewy grass and soaking through the material of your pants. A disbelieving sob bursts forth, catching the attention of the other soldiers gathered around.

"He's okay." You have to say it aloud, just to solidify that fact into your head. "He's okay." You repeat, more to yourself than to anybody else and a breathy grin fills your face as you deflate forward and laugh. He was fine. He was okay. You'd get to see him again. You'd get to see your brother again. You cock your head backwards, Mike's fingers still slightly grazing your scalp as you catch the tail end of Hange's words.

"In other words, we're free people now." 

The reaction is instant, screams of joy and victory pierce the silence of the night and it's what draws you back into the group, Mike stood behind you dutifully with a watchful eye attached to you at all times. 

"Looks like the gamble paid off." Levi's still got the paper parchment grasped in his hold, lowering it slightly in order for you to be able to properly look and read. 

"Yeah," Hange answers. "It wasn't just Erwin though. The lone choices of many managed to change the world." 

"And I managed to kill the three people you loaned to me. I'm sorry. The thing is, part of the Interior Police, their leader, Eren and Historia are somewhere else. If we don't find them soon..." The bitter information Levi offers evokes a grimace from you as your mind jumps back to the earlier fight in Trost. Two bodies clutching fearfully to one another discarded across a crimson floor and empty soulless eyes staring straight at you whilst you stare down the barrel of a gun. 

You're all of a sudden gritting your teeth and cradling your turning stomach, scared that you'll be retching once more as the images just wouldn't seem to leave you alone.

"Oi." Levi knocks a gentle fist against your temple. "Get out of your own head." 

Such a simple order and you follow it flawlessly, the genetics of a soldier basically engrained into you as the words of a superior were a must. 

Except...Levi wasn't exactly your superior anymore, was he?

And yet, you still obeyed his every word like it was hard to break out of this habit and it was. Little naive you of the past had wistfully followed every beck and call which the Lance Corporal had made, equal positions of power or not. You'd once upon a time tricked yourself into thinking that appeasing Levi would give you a greater shot at being liked by him. Even if it was in the smallest amounts. Back then, you'd take whatever you could get your hands on. 

It's laughable really too, because you'd accused Oluo of the exact same thing once upon a time and thrown that fact in his face like you yourself weren't strikingly similar to him. You were. You'd bend over backwards and give Levi the moon if he asked for it, and it infuriated you to no end because you knew Levi would never do the same for you.

It made no sense, you prided yourself on this rebellious cover you'd built for yourself but in truth that was nothing close to the actual soldier you were. You were the best of the best, followed orders closely, top of the ranks and an esteemed Scout. Or...that was who you had been. Were you still that same soldier now? 

Erwin had warned you when Levi had waltzed onto the scene, had specifically told you not to get too close because somebody like Levi Ackerman wasn't somebody who was easily loved. You'd fallen for him regardless...and crashed hard.

You frown but say nothing, turning instead to Hange who brandishes a leather bound book.

"I may have a clue about that. Let's get there and put an end to this battle." 

Hange, thankfully, with the assistance of Mike and Moblit brought a carriage with them to travel in alongside a few other horses. It appears they're reluctant to let you lead and take a horse for your own in your current state, but one hard stare and a stubborn scoff is all they're given before you're hoisting yourself up onto the back of a gorgeous, chestnut mare, a firm hand being pressed to her neck in greeting before you eased yourself onto the saddle and pressed forward. 

Automatically, you think back to your Mustang and no doubt the cosy, heated stable he's resting up at. Safe and protected in the hands of those you could trust. 

"Hange, you might know where they are?" 

It's the first time you've properly heard Mikasa talk tonight, and so you can't help but crane your head back and tune into what was about to be said. 

"Yeah, I'll explain," she nods in reply. "Erwin gave me this Scout investigation report regarding Lord Reiss' land. Most of it has to do with an incident five years ago that shook up the Reiss family."

"Five years ago?" Armin specifically points out.

"Right. On the day Wall Maria was breached. I'll summarise the important bits from the beginning. As the Lord of his territory, popular opinion of Lord Reiss wasn't all that bad. He had five children and his eldest daughter Frieda was a down-to-Earth girl that even the peasants adored. But that night, five years ago...disaster struck. With the world having plunged into pure chaos, some bandits raided and set fire to the only chapel around. Unfortunately, that same night, the entire Reiss family was there praying together. And so, the whole Reiss family, save for the head of the house, Rod Reiss, was massacred that night by bandits."

Your rampant head goes numb, processing only the words of Hange as she easily retells the story. 

"To top it off, this incident occurred just a few days before Historia's Mother was killed by the Interior Police. In other words, immediately after losing his family, Rod Reiss sought out Historia. There must be a reason he and his lackeys are after Historia." 

Levi leans back, throws one leg atop of the other and crosses his arms over his chest. 

"The same bloodline? Is there some secret to their blood?" He thinks aloud the same thing which you had begun to wonder.

"I don't know for sure yet, but what really makes me curious is that parts of the chapel are completely wrecked. The chapel itself is stone, it would take tons of time and effort to destroy it. Bandits would take what they can and make a quick escape. Plus, the only one who saw those bandits was Rod Reiss himself. Soon after, he used his own fortune to rebuild the chapel. But why?"

Connie huffs and that's when you realise that it isn't only you and the ones in the carriage listening intently to what Hange had to say. You were all hooked on her each and every word, becoming more and more lost as more questions began to rise. 

"If you think about it, it's actually stranger that there were no traces of titans. Even if I'm jumping to conclusions, something this suspicious deserves us checking it out." 

Levi's quick to turn around then, because if a plan is marked out to check this Reiss territory then he's more than sure there'll be opponents to face. 

"Kenny the Ripper. If he's there, he'll be our biggest obstacle. In terms of how much a threat he is, equate him to me as an enemy. No...with those weapons he's deadlier than me." 

"Then he's unbeatable," Sasha speaks, and her voice wavers. She was scared, that much was obvious but you couldn't really blame her. Kenny at times scared you too, even though you wouldn't like to admit it. "At least for us..."

Connie follows Sasha, half heartedly. "If we could meet up with the troops-"

"Absolutely not," Mikasa's refusal is final.

"I know, absolutely not!" Connie quickly backtracks. "If we wait until morning, Eren might end up getting eaten!" 

Their words drown out following that because you're sucked up inside your own guilty mind. Levi doesn't know about you being familiar with Kenny. Or more like he does, he just doesn't know why. Doesn't know that you previously knew about Kenny being an Ackerman just like him. Doesn't know that for a year or two when you'd freshly retired from the Scouts Regiment, Kenny had picked you up after seeing you fail miserably at adjusting to a civilian life and practically took you in under his wing before setting you free back out on your own again after gaining some footing. 

He was onto you though, he knew something was up and could tell through the simple way your teeth abused the skin of your lower lip. Nervous. You were nervous with what this next meeting would bring because you knew the inevitable collision would only wreak havoc. And the longer the four in the carriage conversed over it, the more nervous you became.

It seems you draw towards the chapel all too soon, towering in all its gloomy glory as you made a point to dismount from your horse and readjust the equipment at your waist. There's a persistent dull ache to the muscles of your back and it hinders a step or two, face scrunched into a distasteful grimace as you reached back and gingerly grazed a hand across the pained area. 

Levi gently tugs it away, instead focusing on the stained bandages around your arm which seemed to grown and spread more and more. 

"You've torn the stitching, haven't you?" 

Treating him coldly results in his hold pinching tighter around your wrist. 

"Did you know?" Silence. Levi tries again, more forceful this time as he moves to press his chest against yours and leaves no room for escape. You falter. "How long ago did this happen?" 

"It tore back at the checkpoint." 

The Lance Corporal seethes. "That long?" 

"It's fine," you dismiss, pulling your arm out of his grip and escaping the small space shared. "I'm fine," reiterating, you turn from the Ackerman to watch the younger Scouts one by one slowly file into the chapel. 

"Don't even fucking think of running anywhere else after this is all over. Not to Hange and not to Mike either. You find me. Understood? I'll deal with you myself." 

He stalks off before you get the chance to say anything in return, leaving you stood alone outside of the chapel under the heavy skies as the familiar sensation of something searing at the bottom of your stomach returned.  
You shrug the feeling away, turning towards the chapel to enter.

"Found it," Hange whispers low. "A hidden door. Eren's gotta be in here with the enemy. Hopefully the layout in there is like I predicted."

"These presents better pay off, considering we went out of the way to prepare them." 

Your gaze moves to Armin who ties off the last final piece to the so called 'present'.

"Alright, we're good to go."

"Are we? Is everyone ready to get their hands dirty too?" Levi's looking you all over, but you're already far too gone. You've never killed anyone before, but Traute's the first on your list and mercy is something you will forgot the existence of for a while. "Guess so," he adds, taking in all the grim faces before shifting back onto you who smirks slightly at the thought of what was to come.

Revenge would be sweet. It would be bloody, but it would also be very, very sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify something, only Reader knows that Levi is an Ackerman and that's due to her connections with Erwin who knows due to his position in power. Not even Levi knows he is an Ackerman himself. 
> 
> Apologies for any errors made~


	32. A Mistake.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hange gets hurt and fury simmers below the surface, Levi makes the wrong decision when it comes to calming you down and won't seem to admit it.

Thirty five. It's thirty five what Levi counts as he swings in with both you and Mikasa on his flanks. The smoke is quick to thicken the air, toxic black and moss green of the flares combining together to make one big cover up which would serve as a great way to buy time and seize the upper hand. 

"Thirty five enemies, they're gathered behind the pillars! Continue the plan! We'll take 'em all out right here!" 

The hooks of your gear latch into the crystallised structure of the wall, feet planted and body angled in a show of interest as you appeared to leer menacingly at a specific woman who for once chose not to falter in the eyes of the enemy. 

"All troops, spread out! Surround them one at a time!"

The remaining Scouts of Team Levi take the leap and another perfectly aimed arrow from Sasha's bow evokes an additional explosion of fire and smoke to the already palpable scene. You grimace at the way it leaves your lungs constricting painfully, excluded from raging chaos happening down below as you simply leaned back and watched. Watching, but more importantly....surveying.

You're interested in only one, and it seems Levi's about to tag your prey before you even get the chance to properly hunt her down. That thought alone is enough to urge you forward, knees bent and pushing you off the wall to send you into a lethal pounce. Your inches away from taking Levi off of his course and assuming his position yourself, but there's no need for that when a gunshot rings out and suddenly you're both taking cover behind the nearest pillar which had taken the hit instead of it being your head or the Lance Corporals. 

Cussing under your breath, the sound of Kenny's voice draws closer and it leaves you breathless as fear gripped you whole and seemed to wring you tight. 

"Yo Levi," he crows. "Not that I've got time to waste on you, but...if you get past here it'll all be for nothin'. So be it. Guess I'll have to play." The sound of Kenny reloading snaps you to reality, and without conveying to Levi even the slightest shred of your on the spot plan, you lunge upwards. The opposite to what the Lance Corporal had been thinking who had ducked low. 

He was aiming to avoid Kenny's attack, whilst you were intending to face the older Ackerman's head on in order to create a diversion for your fellow Scout. 

"Neener, neener, neener!" Kenny calls out like a taunting child. 

He swings around the pillar and through the enveloping cloud of smoke to collide with a blade which belonged to somebody who he didn't think would face him head on. His face for the briefest of seconds is possessed by shock which is quickly erased with a smug smirk, the barrel of his gun and the blade of your sword rattling against one another in a fight for pure, brute strength. 

"Well, well, well little Pup. Always full of surprises ain't ya?" 

The snarl with rips from you is absolutely feral and it seems to catch even Levi off guard who moves from below and causes you and Kenny to part as the older man barely escapes the hastily swung blades of Levi's weapons. 

"You're a spunky one, damn," Kenny hums and whilst his attention is diverted, your gaze moves back down to your prey who is currently trying to make a means of escape.

Kicking off of the pillar, the smoke crowds are you as you drop freely and arch your back to pick up speeded momentum. The way her body visibly flinches at the sound of being pursued leaves you giddy with anticipation of just what you would do the minute she was tangled up in your trap and exactly yours for the taking. 

As a warning, you fling your blade out which barely skims the underside of her chin as she decided to shift and dodge at the very last moment possible. 

"Better start running Caven, I'm on your tail now."

The quick firing of wired hooks and fast shots ring loud in your ears and seem to rattle your bones, blades moving way too close for Traute to feel even remotely comfortable as each hastily swung weapon brought you closer and closer to landing one solid hit which had the potential to be the final one. 

Lost within your own mind, you're oblivious to Hange tugging you swiftly from the line of fire, only crashing back down to reality when the shattering of the pillar behind you meets your ears. Breathless and high on adrenaline, you nod a simple thanks to the squadron captain who beams back your way before you're both turning back onto Caven. 

"Huh?" Hange calls. "Both of your shots were way off! You like to live recklessly, too!?" 

It happens all too quick to even compute. She's left wide open and vulnerable, something Traute preys on all too well and the harsh sound of the hook latching through Hange's shoulder sends your stomach rolling. Petrified, all you can allow yourself to do is watch as the blonde callously manoeuvres her gear around and flings the body of Hange against the nearest pillar, sending her clattering down with a pained yelp. 

Something is screamed and movement is detected but it's all drowned out. For you who drops emptily to the ground cares very little for what's happening up above now. Caven readies herself to fall back with the rest of her troop but allows a moment of hesitancy, just enough time to catch the look which seems to swallow you whole and freeze the entire scene. 

There's a vein which stretches up the side of your neck, prominent and pulsing with every twitch as you cocked your head to the side and brazenly made unbreakable eye contact with the woman perched above. There's a slight glimmer from the teeth which you threaten to bear and your eyes are flinty and cold as you dare her to move even the smallest inch closer. 

She doesn't. But a garbled order from Kenny is what finally draws her away, leaving you to seethe and fume at the edges. 

Mike and Moblit hoist Hange up and Levi's ordering you back and away before there's even a shred of a chance that you can lash out. Movement sharp and pointed, you spin roughly and begin to stalk off, following the motions of group all the whilst doing your best to ignore Levi and the way he was trying to obtain your attention. 

His patience wears thin after awhile and so the Lance Corporal grabs for you, snatching you around the corner of the nearest pillar all the whilst ordering the rest of the team to continue on. 

"Calm down. Until you do I'm not letting you go anywhere." 

"Don't be ridiculous Levi. We don't have time for this. Hange is severely hurt and that damn bitch is still alive. I've got shit to do," carelessly, you attempt to brush past him but as a result of your actions you're left stunned when he's turned the tide and twisted the positions. 

Trapped with your back to the crystal pillar and Levi caging you from your front, there's no other options but for you to stare him directly in the eye. 

"You think I'm joking around runt? Calm the fuck down, then I'll consider letting you go back. Until then? Don't even think about it. Right now you are your own biggest enemy." 

"Seriously, you and I both know we don't have the time for this, we need to save Eren and-" 

Heat fans against the frosted skin of your chin and jaw, disoriented and in a haze as lips rested a scant breath away from one another, brushing gingerly against each other a few times in an obvious display of uncertainty. Waiting for the other to make the first move. When had he gotten so close? Just what exactly was he doing? And why the hell was you not as bothered by it as what you should have been? 

He was serving as a distraction, obviously. However, there was other ways to do this. What was running through his head right now?

"Levi," it's a hoarse whisper but it's all you can manage. 

He won't make the first move, that much you know but it isn't really you who acts first either. It's the young cadet trapped within you still naive and wishing hopefully who raises a shaky hand and grazes it softly against the sharp point of the Ackerman's jaw. The palm of your hand cupping his face so gently that you may as well have not even been touching him at all. The small distance to press forward didn't seem to have existed, the swift press so enrapturing that for a second you forget about all the worries you know you'll have to face after this moment is snatched away from you.

Levi physically tenses against you and you're aware enough to realise, fearful that he would push you away and full of relief when he doesn't. Levi doesn't pull away, but he doesn't move further against you either. His fingers twitch and jerk nervously at your sides, like he wants to touch but he thinks he can't. So he doesn't. 

What he does do however is dip his head further down, chest to chest with the kiss deepening on his account. Your hand finally slips from his jaw at that point, fisted around the material of his shirt and yanking him to reality so abruptly that he tears back from you as if scolded.

Frantic, Levi tries to claw back his composure and does his best to ignore the way both his own and your chest rise and fall dramatically, your cheeks flushed and lips slightly swollen and red. 

"What was that? We shouldn't have-"

"No, yeah...I get it." It's frightening how quickly your face steels over, eyes no longer holding that same amount of warmth they did only seconds ago. 

"That shouldn't have happened," Levi repeats, like he's trying to convince himself except everytime he speaks, it seems to wound you all that much deeper. He's thrown his walls back up, cool and composed whilst leaving you all out on your own to drown. 

"Levi," your voice strikes the Ackerman sharply, pushing against him harshly to remove yourself from the caging position and already moving to catch up with the others. "I get it. It shouldn't have happened," refusing to glance back at him, you don't get to catch the sudden dawn of realisation Levi experiences who acknowledges what exactly has just happened. "It won't happen again." 

A mistake. It was a stupid mistake. Something that, like you had already said, wouldn't happen again.

Eager to regroup, it doesn't take you long to find the others. Standing by Mikasa's side, you're all left to evaluate the situation you're left in by the opposing troops who had regrouped and retreated as soon as the opportunity had presented itself. From what it appeared, you were trapped inside all the way around, but there had to be some form of an opening. A weaker ledge or open ground which somebody could easily slip through and further aid entry for the rest of the group without being caught. Analytical eyes rove around, but there's no time for you to pick up on anything with potential when a spark flashes through the underground of the Chapel and highlights everything a horrifying shade of yellow. 

Well shit, as if you already didn't have enough on your plate.

What was a titan transformation added to the mix?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long awaited update! 
> 
> Per usual, apologies for any errors made~


	33. How Bad Do You Want It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Was it...a mistake?

It isn't by sheer luck but by quick actions that Mikasa manages to get to Historia before her back collides painfully against the crystal pillar wall. Levi slides in behind Erens chained form and you're brave enough to stand in front of the stunned teen, slowly kneeling down to take his face into your hands as you inspected the stretching slice across his forehead. Levi latches onto one arm with the bundle of keys swinging in his hold, Jean on the other side and Connie wrapped around his waist. 

"Captain! You guys!" 

"Connie, hurry!" The keys get passed along, all the whilst you try to keep Eren's attention focused solely on you. 

"Forget about me! Captain! Hurry and escape!" 

"Hush up Braveheart," your voice is clipped and cold, making the young Scout in your hold turn to look you directly in the eyes which are clouded over and misty. 

"He's free!" Connie announces, giving you enough time to quickly glance over your shoulder and inspect the titan forming right behind you, steaming and burning through the very material of your shirt to leave the skin of your back tender to touch. It was bigger than the Colossal titan...it had to be. 

"The ceiling..." that's all which Mikasa mutters, but it's enough to bring attention to the matter which was that the titan's spine was protruding and pressing against the crystallised interior, sending it crumbling and flaking downwards. 

"Get back!" Someone barks, dragging Eren away and watching as the ledge which he was earlier chained to snaps off completely and clatters useless to the floor.

"Shit! There's no way out!" 

You refuse to glance towards Eren as the first sob escapes him, the titan shifter collapsing in a heap to the floor as tears ebbed at the corners of his eyes and blurred his vision. 

"I'm sorry, everyone. I've been nothing but useless. Ever since the very beginning, I was never the hope of humanity..." 

"What's this?" Jean snarks out, nose scrunched and eyes pinched in a bitter expression. "Think you're some tragic hero? When have you ever accomplished anything by your strength alone?"

Connie's quick to catch on. "What a weakling. We've been through much worse than this."

"Not that I wanted to get used to it!" Sasha huffs. 

"Still," Connie grimaces. "It's going to suck trying to navigate through all that." 

Mikasa speaks next, but you've already mentally clocked out, focusing once more on the monstrosity which still continues to grow and grow before your very eyes. Without much thought, you step forward, ignorant to the cries of worry as you drop to yourself on the ledge of the raised platform, legs swinging back and forth almost as if there wasn't a single care in the world. 

"It's now or never Braveheart."

A deafening hum of silence swallows you all and momentarily it feels like the entire ordeal has just slowed down before your very eyes, being able to watch the instant Eren's eyes dart behind him before he's twisting to follow his line of sight and scooping something up. He lunges from the platform, something shatters and that familiar yellow spark is ignited once more. Eren's titan form doesn't take long to manifest but it does still leave you reeling back in amazement as crystallised vines snake from his form across the floor and branch out. 

"Everyone! Get underneath Eren!" 

You reach for Historia, snatching her up and pulling her close before following Mikasa on her ranks and drawing safe beneath the protective form of the titan on your side. The titan of Rod Reiss breaks through the ceiling of the Chapel underground and despite the onslaught of debris dropping down, you're left in a daze over the crystal form which Eren's titan possessed. If anything...it reminded you closely to that of Annie and her titan form.

"Hey!" Jean distantly calls your name, gripping the leather of your uniform gear to yank you to full attention. You glance down at him emptily, half there and half not. "You good?"

You nod, clocking back into reality to inspect what remained of the chaos which had transpired only mere seconds prior. Levi's talking to Eren and the rest of the group, ignorant to the way you admire the hardened shell of the titan Eren had left behind even after being removed from its nape. It was most stunning. Connie and Sasha return rather quickly but then that also leaves you to realise that you hadn't even really noted when they had left in the first place. 

An exit point has been discovered and that's all you bother paying attention to. It's easy to track where the two had previously been, stumbling upon the exit by sheer luck and scrambling to leave the tight confines of the underground before Levi and the others could even notice that you were gone. 

Had Traute and the others managed to survive and escape too? 

"Leave it," his hand pushes down against the back of your skull and it's a reflexive action to flinch and duck away from his grip. Levi narrows his eyes at that, unhappy no doubt but you cared very little for what he felt right now. "We've got more pressing matters to be dealing with."

Scoffing, you turn like a petulant child away from Levi and stalk instead towards Mike who returns with Moblit, Armin and Hange close in tow with the carts from earlier and a team of horses. Your chestnut mare moves towards you immediately, whinnying in greeting which had you smiling before hoisting up onto her back and shoving your feet into the stirrups. 

There's a collection of blazing fire light in the distance and it's not from the beast of the crawling titan but instead reinforcements. An order is given to move towards it and although the group moves as soon as possible, you linger behind. There's a hazy shift within the shadows but you lock onto it regardless, pulling on the reigns of your steed to bring her closer. 

"You thought hiding amongst the shadows would keep you safe?"

Sliding from your mounts back draws the woman out from her hiding spot, pale already and looking to be sporting a hefty amount of threatening injuries. It was all so incredibly pleasing to see. 

"The fights that way," she jerks her head in the direction of the titan making it's way for the wall but you're not at all interested.

"I'm not looking for the drama. I'm looking for the finale," a blade is drawn, glinting maliciously under the light of the waning moon. "You're my finale Caven." 

She's clutching at a rather nasty looking gash which stretches across her forehead, feet unsteady beneath her as she stumbles further into your line of view. 

"You don't scare me," it's a curdled snarl which flies from her bloodied lips, limping miserably on her own to feet which no doubt threatened to give way beneath her at any given moment.

"Frankly I couldn't care less if I did or I don't. You've got to understand though Caven," the blade is raised and pressed scarily close against her throat. "The finale is here and now." 

"For someone who is supposed to protect humanity...how can you so easily be okay with killing somebody?" 

There's a faint scuffle in the distance, muted hooves of a horse growing louder. The sound of an audience. Levi orders you not to do it, grumbles that you'll regret it in due time but his words fall on deaf ears. The Lance Corporal watches the merciless way you apply more pressure and drag, the blade yanked back to your side and a body dropping heavily to the ground with a haunting thud. 

"That's for Alina and Marie."

"Oi, we've got to go. Erwin's gave orders to return to Wall Sina and the Orvud District." 

His hand circled around your arm only for you to hiss in pain the second he applies more force. Levi releases you immediately, ready to snap it appeared from the look on his face however he saw the stains of red across the skin of his palm and promptly silenced himself upon doing so. The bandage which had earlier been wrapped around your arm was torn clean away now, and the stitches beneath were left out in the open to be gawked at. A few more have been tore, leaving the gash to bleed in rivulets down your skin and drip from the tips of your fingers.

"Why the fuck didn't you say anything?" He grabs at you again.

"I don't need your goddamn help Levi!" Reaching for your mare, she trots over in compliance and is steady enough for you to haul yourself onto her back once more with no real proper issue. "Just," a tired sigh escapes you. "Stop acting like you care when you so clearly don't." 

You say nothing more and neither does he. A suffocating silence envelops you both and even when drawing into the safety of the Orvud district things are tense. You refuse to look at him, hiding like a coward behind the confidence of Mike and Moblit whilst checking in on Hange. Even then, your hands still shake and your lips still tremble and if they had picked up on it, they were nice enough to leave matters unsaid. 

"Erwin's calling the meeting now it seems, we should get moving," Mike turns away from the Scout who had presumably delivered the news to look upon you, Moblit and Hange. 

You had just found a roll of thread, having pulled it taut between your teeth and intending to poke it through the eye of a needle when Mike had thundered over and snatched it from your grasp.

"Hey! What are you-"

"Don't be so reckless kiddo, we're not going to sit back and watch as you give yourself some shoddy excuse of stitches. Hange is well enough to attend the meeting and Moblit will be with her. You're not going anywhere whilst I fix that arm up of yours."

"But the meeting..." your voice trails off. 

"Doesn't matter. The information will be relayed back to us when it is adjourned. For now, be good and stay still." 

'Easier said than done.'

That was all you could think in response. After all, how could you remain calm when the thought of Levi and only Levi was plaguing your mind?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait!! I've got another fic in the works (Reader/Levi again) which I'll be uploading the first chapter to in a day or two so please check it out when I do, it would mean a lot to me! 
> 
> Per usual, I apologise for any errors made~


	34. Show Me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Historia proves herself worthy, meanwhile you're buckling under the pressure of it all.

It's a futile attempt. Laughable really. Mike's used as a decoy to keep you distracted and away from the Scout's activities from here on out but he must know that you've dealt with him once before and therefore seeing through his tricks is all too easy.

That's why before you know it, you find yourself stood upon the top of the wall with your hip jutted out and pressing against Historia in a reassuring manner. For you knew. No matter what face she put on, no matter how determined she swore she was, there would still be a festering ball of fear and anxiety somewhere deep down within her. 

The cannons are launched, resounding explosions rattle the air and thunder through the soles of your feet, the very action alone leaving you to look to Erwin with curious eyes who had cooked up this plan in such a short span of time. 

"Well, how's that...?" 

The titan stops in it tracks, but the smoke is all too quickly swatted to the side with a stretching arm that drags it closer. Another round of projectiles is released, but you know now that they serve no real purpose. 

"The ground cannons seem even less effective." 

"Of course they are," Levi scoffs out in reply to his Commander. "The wall cannons barely hit the nape, even with the better angle. What's the problem?" 

Erwin barely conceals his sigh. "It's a mismatch of soldiers...cannons they scraped together...superficial leadership. To top it off, this is a Northern Region. Unlike troops on the front lines, they have no battle experience. However, this is the best we're going to get and that's a fact." 

"Yeah, that much is painfully obvious. Yet again, your strategy for the Scouts boils down to another gamble. Just like everything else you conjure up." 

Hange's rushing over by that point, but you've already mentally clocked out. You're here, but that doesn't mean you've been permitted to do anything. Under strict rules from both Erwin and Levi as well as Hange and Mike, you were to abstain from the action as much as possible. The thread tightly pulling your skin back together was the reasoning for that, but you and all four of your other surrounding veteran Scouts knew that you weren't about to follow what they'd ordered. 

For now, your toes hang over the edge of the wall, wind rustling frantically past and disturbing the loose fabric of your dress shirt. Your eyes are trained on the mass moving lump of flesh, a curdled look of disgust on your face as the daunting tune of a fine whistle on your lips is drowned out by the explosions and bellowed demands. Something tremors once more and all of sudden you're hit with a fresh wave of déjà vu that you're not exactly able to understand until something is nearly slipping and somebody is tugging you back before anything else can come off a slip of a foot.

"You're forbidden from becoming titan food until I get to say what I need to say. Sit your ass down and be good," his voice isn't what you would have expected it to be. It isn't rough or raspy deep in his throat, instead it's light yet still stern, enough for you to know that it's not a warning but a promise. 

One that leaves you dumbfounded and lost despite the whole ordeal going on around you. 

His touch lingers much too long for it to simply be a coincidence, the two of you watching the way his fingertips slowly loosen before grazing and being removed all together. You're left breathless at the motion of it all, unaware to the watchful eye of your brother who somehow has the time to delegate orders and smugly note his Lance Corporal and his sister share an exchange that means much more he bets beyond the surface.

There's a flush uprising of hot steam all of a sudden, pushing all troop Scouts backwards who hiss and cry at the searing pain of it all. The titan of Rod Reiss lingered directly below now, pressed against the rooting foundation of the wall and simply threatening to tear it all down with the most easiest of actions. Despite the struggle to see, cannons explode regardless and it leaves you breathless, chest rising and falling with every new surge of adrenaline that sunk into your veins. Subconsciously, you amble over to Erwin who spares you a quick, fleeting look before you're both glaring down at the beast. 

"Are we too late?" That's all the blonde can mumble, words empty and dry but also partially drowned out by the bellows and shrieks which were no doubt possessed with fear. 

A hand reaches up, and up, and up, leaving you to as a last resort grip for Erwin with wide eyes and an erratic heart. It crashes down, using the wall as a balance to level itself forward and up. The sight of the titan's face lolling backwards and half erased nearly makes you gag, face contorted back into your earlier grimace and a powerful shudder raking up the expanse of your back. You know for sure that watching its guts fall out will be a horrifying image forever engrained into your brain, and that funnily enough is what really sets the panic in for real but strangely enough the opposite occurs for you. 

Your grip loosens on Erwin and you're ignorant to the way he glances after you, instead more focused on the way your team react so fluidly and calmly to this situation. Buckets of water being doused over head to cool the skin and you're not even granted the time reach for one yourself when Jean's tossing the water your way, cackling at the way it drenches you through. 

"Lovely," you grit. "Thanks for that Kirstein." 

"My pleasure." 

A balled spark ignites directly after, flashing across the sky and snatching the attention of many. It leaves you giddy, listening the familiar sound of the titan's roar as you race forward for Historia and grant her a wide, reassuring grin. A flare paints the scene red and with Erwin's newly announced order resonating, everything begins to work like freshly oiled clockwork. Pinpointing its balance is the main focus as of current, and throwing that off is proven successful with one of Hange's many creations. 

Rod Reiss' titan staggers forward, head slamming unceremoniously atop of the wall and being enough of a signal alongside the Commander's barked voice to send Eren sprinting forward. The sack of gunpowder is lowered from the titan's shoulder, and you bend at your knees ready for what you know is about to come next. It's tossed into the opposing creatures mouth and the second fiery explosions expand, you pull the blondes attention at your side.

"You ready?" 

She nods, lips pulled into a firm line and blades held in strong, fisted hands. 

"Then show me what you got." 

"All troops! Finish it off with ODM Gear!"

Lunging off of the wall comes like second nature, no hitching breath or tensed limbs. Just sheer confidence, both you and Historia slicing through the first chunk you come across whilst quickly passing by Jean and Connie. Her eyes are resolute and stern, something that has your heart swelling with pride when you look at her. 

Your head tilts down, catching a specific piece that you know you could reach and destroy but also knowing that it isn't your place to do so. 

"Historia!" 

She snaps around immediately, noting the subtle jerk of your head towards the specific piece which she too also now knows is different. The young Scout says nothing. She doesn't really need to. Instead, Historia swiftly flings herself past you and the hissing of blades against the searing flesh is enough to confirm what you had already suspected would happen. Her frame falls within the inner wall but you do not follow. Instead, your feet stumble to catch yourself upon the wall, watching with glazed orbs as civilians and Scouts alike gathered around the petite blonde who ever so slowly began to come to.

"I am Historia Reiss. The true ruler of these walls." 

The sun drops all too soon it seems, setting the sky aflame but it doesn't hold your attention long enough to leave you enraptured. No, instead you're about to do something that you'll no doubt regret in the long run. Levi takes off somewhere with the assistance of only one man by his side and although you know you shouldn't, you find yourself following him. 

He travels through tree tops and a fair distance back is what you do too, shifting as quietly as you can whilst pouncing from branch to branch with the added assistance of your ODM Gear. Finally, after a brief short while he stills, and you too pause your pursuit high up in the trees to watch as he stands before a collapsed figure who you know all too well.

"Kenny." 

"Oh gee, it's you?"

"Your comrades we fought, they all ended up getting crushed." 

Your head knocks back at that, grim smile twisting your lips because well...not all of them. 

"Are you the only survivor?" 

Kenny's head lowers and even though you should hate the man, you find your heart constricting.

"Seems that way." 

Levi suddenly turns to the Scout at his side. 

"Report back. I'm fine here alone." 

"Understood!" 

The man leaves the scene immediately, leaving Levi to believe that it's just himself and Kenny. Or that's what you had assumed. 

"I know you're there runt, come here." 

Sheepishly, almost ashamed, you jump down from your hiding spot in the trees and shuffle over to Levi's side who doesn't bother sparing you a look. Instead, you both survey Kenny who peers up at you. 

"With those burns and that blood loss, there's no helping you now." 

"Yeah? I wonder..." 

You hear something click and notice the revealed box at the elder man's side, mouth slightly agape at the syringe placed delicately inside. 

"I swiped this little one right out of Rod's bag. Seems if I inject this...I'll turn into a titan. One of those dumb titans...unfortunately. For a while...it should extend my...life." 

There's nothing but a deafening silence, Kenny's face so serene that it leaves you choked up, leaning further against Levi but not really knowing if you're comforting him exactly or yourself. 

"You've had the time and strength to inject yourself. Why haven't you?" 

"Yeah. I wonder...if I don't inject it right...I might end up like he did...all messed up." 

"I know you're not sitting here waiting to die. Don't you have a better excuse?" 

You couldn't care less now. Your hand against your will snares around Levi's wrist and this time for sure you know it's for your own selfish reasoning. Kenny acknowledges the gesture with a soft incline of his lips, head lolling to the side with a wet cough. You cringe. 

"I...don't wanna die...and wanted power. But...I see...I think I understand why he did it, after all this time..."

"Huh?" 

A grin finally fills his face, but it's weak and feeble, enough to leave teardrops ebbing at the corners of your eyes at the sight of it all. Kenny made bad decisions. But to him they weren't bad decisions because he personally believed he was doing the right thing in this world. 

"Everybody I've met...was all the same. Drinking...women...worshipping God, even...family...the King...dreams...children...power. Everybody had to be drunk on somethin' to keep pushing on. Everyone...was a slave to somethin'...even him..." another hack rattle through him, and it takes you by that much surprise that your grip tightens, hand momentarily slipping from Levi's wrist to instead latch pathetically onto his fingers. 

He finally lowers his gun, eyes calculated and hard as they burned through Kenny. 

"A-And what are you?" The older man heaves out. "A hero!?" 

You release him, turning away from the man discarded uselessly against the trunk of the tree to will the tears budding away. Levi yanks him to attention, hands firm on his shoulders as Kenny jostled like a rag doll. 

"Kenny. Tell me everything you know. Why doesn't the first King want humanity to survive!?" 

"Beats me...but we Ackerman's...opposed him for that reason." 

"My last name seems to be Ackerman too." 

Kenny looks to you when Levi says that, but you don't realise. Instead tensing and fearful for the fact that Kenny might reveal what you yourself had been working up to saying all this time. You knew. Kenny had told you years ago and sworn you to secrecy but was it really your place to withhold such information from the very man who deserved to know? 

"You...what were you to my Mother?" 

"Heh, you idiot. Just her brother." 

It isn't your place. It isn't your place. It isn't your place. That's what you keep telling yourself but you can feel Kenny's eyes on your back and it leaves you petrified for all what is to come after. The sob rising up the back of your throat must be smothered because Levi would be furious if he were to find out you were crying for nobody else's sake but his own. 

"That day...why? Why did you leave me?" 

"Because...I'm not meant to be...someone's Father." 

There's a clatter once more, something delicate is passed over and then all that exists is silence. You're scared to turn around, scared to see what image awaits you just beyond your own back but the rough, rasping voice of Levi softly calling Kenny's name is what finally sets you into motion. 

Legs shaking weakly beneath your own weight, Levi's still crouched before the feeble man, the box from earlier now clutched against his chest and trembling only the slightest. You're essentially tiptoeing around him, unsure of how to broach the scene before throwing caution to the wind and lowering yourself onto your knees right beside the Ackerman. Levi doesn't bother regarding you, but that's okay because you're not looking to him either. He deserves that dignity. You would never dream of snatching that away from him. 

Instead, your hand reaches for Kenny, fingertips barely grazing his wrinkled skin and closing the lid over his one remaining good eye. You don't linger, standing immediately after and stepping away from the Lance Corporal who still remains crouched. 

"Levi," you softly call for him, his head turning to finally acknowledge you and more importantly the hand you offer towards him. If he decides to take it or not, that is up to him and it does not matter to you. "Let's go."

He gracefully unfurls. Perhaps his gun is carelessly discarded and perhaps a box containing more power than imaginable is in his left hand, but in his right hand is your own left one which he engulfs. The cold skin of his palm is pressed against the heated surface of yours, and even if he saw the puffy, redness of your eyes and cheeks, he kept all offending comments to himself. 

"I'm sorry." 

He does not know for what reason you apologise. Not yet at least. You mean it though, and that's something he does know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long!! I'm so, so sorry!!  
Apologies for any errors made~  
Please look after your health and stay safe.


	35. Heartless.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth comes to light.

The door slams to a close behind you, echoing throughout the empty room Levi had tugged you into once arriving back at Mitras. There's a suffocating silence hanging over the two of you, and you know for sure that you will not be the one to break it. 

Hands hanging limp over your knees, they twitch and you're about to wring them together when the Lance Corporal turns on you, box shoved atop of the desk to the back of him which he's propped against. 

"He knew you." 

Ah. So there was no beating around the bush. No hesitancy in getting to the main point. There again, it was Levi you were dealing with here and you should have known what to expect. Regardless, that doesn't stop your stomach from flipping uncomfortably, hands beginning to sweat and clam up as the room seemed to swelter. Hot. It was too hot. 

"That is how it would seem," you avert your gaze, eyes trained unmoving upon the dusted floor.

"Did you know him?" 

There's a stilted pause, the room growing smaller and smaller to you and only you as it felt like avoiding the man's piercing glare in front of you was something you'd never be able to achieve. 

"I did," you confess, head knocked back to stare up at the ceiling this time. Anything was better than seeing the look on Levi's face when he finally finds out all what you have kept from him. "I didn't know him well, but I knew him." 

"How?" 

That's all he asks and yet that single word is both hard hitting and incredibly exposing because it requires of you to reveal everything to the one man who you wish to never disappoint.

"He took me in," rip the band-aid off now. "After I left the Scouts, I found myself struggling to fit seamlessly back into society. Having seen what I had done, having done and felt what I did, I knew there was no place for me amongst the normalises of life. I guess he stumbled across me by chance, I'd lash out on a market seller who'd grabbed my shoulder to get my attention. I thought he was going to attack me. Kenny diffused the entire situation and took me out of there before I could even realise what was happening." 

A disbelieving chuckle slips your lips, bubbling into the air and catching Levi mildly by surprise. 

"In a sense he saved me from myself. Taught me how to live again...he told me of you, ya know?" Your head all of a sudden swings forward, tear brimmed eyes catching bravely onto the iced iron of the man's in front of you. Stunned. "Was so very proud of the little boy who surpassed him in every sense and could finally fend for himself. Contrary to what Erwin was told, I didn't leave due to the fear of growing attached to another squad. I left because I wished to fall out of love." 

Levi twists, his arms move to fold across his chest but he still says nothing. 

The chuckle which leaves you is empty and bitter. 

"I couldn't even manage to do that though. How could I when the very uncle of the man who I was trying to escape was placed so cruelly by fate in my path? I fell harder. I fell in love with a man through the words of my saviour who didn't seem to understand the severity of his words. How pathetic!" 

"Oi-" 

"Erwin even warned me the minute you joined the Scouts. Told me not to fall for somebody like you because it would set me up for more bad than good. Of course, I took no notice. I went snooping, read up on the mysterious Levi Ackerman who suddenly showed up with the most potential I'd ever seen since my own cadet days. I was hooked. I had hope. I had wishes," your eyes snap away the instant you catch the way your own voice wobbles. Unsteady. Fragile. Weak. 

For fucksake.

"Stop. You don't have to-" 

His words fly over your head. 

"You can't be like that Levi," finally, a sob emerges and you're disgusted at how pitiful you must appear right now. "You can't push and pull with me. You kissed me and the horror on your face afterwards broke me." 

He begins to slink forward, pushing his way between your knees so you've no choice but to crane your neck backwards to look at him from your seated position.

"You're heartless Levi and yet you play mine like you own it," you sniffle, inspecting the shine of the buttons stitched to his dress shirt. "And I'm not okay with that." 

Something shifts, but your eyes are blinded too much by ebbing tears for you to pick up on exactly what it is or what Levi is doing. You don't know until rough fingertips card through knotted hair, scratching softly against your scalp and inviting an involuntary shudder out of you. The motion has you biting at your lip in embarrassment.

"I just want to know where I stand with you." 

Levi's hand freezes, breath held tight in his chest as you blinked up at him and took notice of the openly conflicted expression on his face before his head slowly began to lower.

"I don't regret what I did." 

There's no need for him to specify, you both know what he's talking about. 

"And I won't regret this now either."

It's a stolen moment which you both exist within, hushed secrets whispered against trembling skin for you both knew that outside of this room, outside of it all, it was to never be spoken of again. No one would know. You should be angry. But your eyes flutter against your will regardless and Levi's image is banished from your mind as you force yourself not to think or see in this instance but only feel. He shifts against you, but what you expect is not what you get. 

Levi presses a chaste kiss to your forehead, lips gingerly grazing the rugged, healed skin of your scar. The gesture ignites heat all the way throughout you, breath stuck in your throat and hands wrung tightly together as neither of you moved. 

"You're important to me." 

That's all Levi says but those four words hold more gravity than what you could ever imagine. And you know to say nothing. Eyes still closed in the darkness of this forgotten room.

Perhaps you had been greedy demanding from Levi what you secretly knew you were never going to get? You yourself knew after all, it wasn't give and take with the Lance Corporal. It was give and wait. 

Time.

That was all it was.

Time.

And so that was what you would give him. Time. And plenty of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! 
> 
> I hope you're all well and staying safe. 
> 
> Apologies for any errors made~


	36. Unexpected Friend.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chance of taking back Wall Maria proves itself to be more and more successful as time passes.

Two months. It's two months down the line when some form of normalcy is close to accepted once more. Well, as normal as things could have possibly gotten around here. With Hange's help on the creation of a new weapon just beyond the wall which slowly saw the number of titans dwindling, spirits were high with the newly restored monarch in place. 

What Erwin and the others couldn't wrap their heads around though was your glaringly obvious absence. It's like you had swiftly banished yourself from existence, traces erased and only the soft material of your newly broken in Scouts jacket left behind. Levi had thought about chasing after you, but had only gotten so far to the stables back in Trost where he found your Mustang already long gone.

You'd be back when the time was right. Or at least, that's what Mike, Hange and Erwin repeatedly prattled on about. 

Levi would have liked to believe that, but he'd been around the three much too long and knew them too well to see past their false façade of confidence and notice the nervous shift in their eyes whenever your name was on their tongues. In truth, nobody had the faintest clue as to why you had so mysteriously just upped and left. The entire situation was a funny one and Levi would have liked to ponder on it a bit more if it wasn't for the looming battle up ahead weighing his shoulders down. 

With what they knew now, they had a fighting chance at taking back Wall Maria with the help of Eren and his powers. But even then, the younger Scouts seemed down hearted. Like they too also knew something was wrong. So the brats were more perceptive than what Levi would have originally gave them credit for, so what? 

You'd be back soon. Or at least, that's what Levi kept on telling himself. 

In truth, you're actually roaming the one place Levi would never assume you to be. Your Mustang being relocated to a closer stable up top as you shoulder your way through the dark scenery of the Underground. A hood conceals your head, ODM gear ditched but a blade still tucked into the sturdy leather of your belt. 

Two months. It had been two months since the Survey Corps had more than likely assumed you'd turned tail and ran but in all honesty you had merely decided that now was the time to pursue answers all on your own. And your feet had brought you here. 

Kenny had always spoken of a certain man. Someone who he had questions for, but didn't know for certain if it was exactly him who had taken in Levi alongside Isabelle and Furlan when the going got rough.

You'd hunted him out and was stunned to find just exactly what you had. 

Otis was a man of few pleasantries and even fewer actions but he was willing and that's what you had optimised on. 

Otis knew of you. Knew of the straggly Scout his old partner in crime had taken in up top on the surface. Apparently word got around. He'd taken one good look at the scars you possessed, the rough skin to your forehead and the tell-tale mark of a titan's jaw wrapped around your arm before deeming you worthy. Otis strangely enough taught you what Kenny never could and what the Scouts never would. 

What Otis taught you was what you could recall Levi using. The stance his body naturally fell into, the way his fingers wrapped around the blades of his gear. Otis was a scrapper of a man. He did not fight fair and it didn't take you long to understand why.

Historia with the aid of Levi may have been doing all they could to help support those living with the squalor of the Underground, but there was only so much that could be done at once. You fixed then and there what you could with the voice of Otis ordering you to within your head. 

He was a complicated man. One who had evidently not aged well with dark circles weighing down his greyed, heavy eyes, liver spots tarnishing his flaked skin and veins striking darkly against the transparent surface of his flesh. 

You could see Otis in Levi. The impact he had left on him just as much as you could see Kenny and Isabelle and Furlan. The Underground may not be the most welcoming of places, but whilst you had sat with Otis through certain nights unsure of what the next day would hold, he had told you of them. Momentarily those long gone were brought back to life and each time a story ended, it felt like you had to go through the heartbreak of losing them all over again. 

It had however made your resolve stronger. It had made you stronger. And you knew that as you shoved your feet into the stirrups of your steeds saddle, pelvis pushed forward with your chest puffed high. 

He tears from the scene immediately, and the rush you get from knowing that you're headed back home is dizzying. The weapon at your waist feels heavier than anything you've every carried but you know bringing this certain item back will be worth more words than Levi could ever threaten to gut out of you. 

Night has fallen by the time your horse is trotting up to the assigned stables, being met with two assigned Scouts who take his reins with soft coos and awed murmurs of amazement. You slide from his saddle swiftly, pinning the two cadets with a firm gaze.

"Would either of you two happen to know where the Lance Corporal is?" 

Realisation hits then as to who exactly you are. Backs straighten themselves out in an instant.

"Captain Smith! What an honour!" 

You roll your eyes.

"No need for all of that. Just tell me where the Corporal is." 

"Well," one of them begins to trail off, looking to their partner. "It's meat night for the Scouts so I doubt he's lingering anywhere near the mess hall."

"I heard he not long since left a meeting with Commander Erwin. You could always check the upper wing." 

You nod with a muffled hum, your hood slipping from your face only the slightest.

"I'll do just that. Thank you."

You're gone before either of the two can say anything more, the advice directing you away from the upper wing and instead precisely towards the mess hall. It didn't take a genius to know that the Lance Corporal would be lingering around ready to put a prompt stop to any chaos caused which always seemed to happen when meat was served on a particular night. The Scouts were after all...savages. Well, maybe that was a particularly extreme way to put it. But to an extent, it was true! 

And much to your expectations, you find the very man you're looking for stood in between Jean and Eren who is no doubt the number one reason for them groaning on the floor in pain. The sight brings a smile to your face, hip jutted against the door frame as you folded your arms across your chest. His demands have the room clearing out in an instant, and it seems they're all none the wiser to your presence which is merely overlooked. 

You're reluctant to make him aware. Instead watching wistfully as he leaves just as quickly as he came, something unreadable attached to the expression on his face that had your stomach rolling uncomfortably. 

Only once you've seen the mess hall clear out do you make yourself follow after him, the voices of Eren, Mikasa and Armin nearby as you catch the way his body tucks itself in against the nearest alleyway. Swathed in darkness as his head knocks back against the cold stone to listen to their fond words.

It was so rare to stumble upon someone so young in this line of work who still possessed the amount of hope which they all did. 

"Miss me Corporal?" 

His head snaps forward and his eyes narrow but no words leave his lips. He instead remains seated as you step out into the light before him and remove the hood which hides who you are. 

"Thought you were through with running away?" 

You hum and the sound rattles straight through your chest as you seat yourself across from Levi but still close enough that you could physically touch him if you reached your arm out far enough. 

"I had some questions that I wanted answering. Some feelings which I wanted erasing and some memories that I needed reliving." 

"Did you achieve all what you wished to do?" Levi's voice is slow and drawled, almost like each word spoken is one which has been carefully chosen and crafted. Cautious around you. But why? 

"Almost," you purr, plucking your cloak away to reveal the blade at your waist which you pull into view and slide across the floor towards the Lance Corporal.

He regards it with sceptical eyes.

"Otis sends his best." 

That's all. That's all you say but it has more of an effect on Levi than what you had assumed it would. He tentatively lifts the weapon and inspects the silver lining of the handle. Only the best of the best from Otis, it reminded him closely of the first dagger the elderly man had ever presented him with.

"You...went down there?" 

Pursing your lips, you shrug as casually as possible.

"I knew there was more than to what Kenny had originally taught me, I guess that's why he referred me to Otis the way in which he did." 

Levi's head knocks backwards once more, his hand fisted around the handle a bit too tightly to the point his skin has bleached an unhealthy state of white. 

"I'm sorry," you murmur. "I guess...in a sense I did run away from my own troubles and somehow along the way got tangled up in the past of yours. That wasn't my intention."

You find yourself leaning forward, closely inspecting the tightness which surrounds Levi's eyes and the way his brows are furrowed more than usual. Wrong. Something was wrong.

"Levi?" His name on your tongue had him arching a brow. "Something happened. What happened?" 

He finally stands, the blade hangs limply in his hold now as he instead sweeps his gaze intently over you. There's a new gash to the underside of your jaw he notices and it looks to be in the early stages of healing.

"Nothing happened." 

"You're lying to me," your hand reaches out to latch onto his empty hand, the action rendering him frozen to the very spot he stands upon. "Don't lie to me...please." 

He could tell you. He should tell you! But Levi at this moment doesn't have the heart to tell you something he himself is having trouble wrapping his head around. Why at this moment in time was Erwin choosing to be so goddamn stubborn? The words of the Commander from earlier ring around inside his head and no matter what Levi thinks, says or does, he can't help the bitter feeling which is left behind inside of him. 

"I'm not. Just," the sigh which leaves him is audible, hand slipping frm your own as he reaches up with it to tousle your hair softly. "It's good to see you back in one piece runt." 

You watch him go after that. Despising the way the silence eats at you from the inside.

"Yeah," you breathe dejectedly. "It's good to be back." 

Something was wrong. 

But what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	37. Humanity Or Titans?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just before sunset, you realise you're dragged back into the motion of things all too soon.

Wall Maria was a third of humanity's territory which had been taken. The prospect of it being reclaimed was one which your cynical mind predicted to be far-fetched. 

Even now, as your legs wrapped around the sturdy barrel of your assigned mares' body, you couldn't help but think this particular mission to be one held in a similar light to that of self destruction. It was too early. Erwin was throwing so many lives head first into a blazing fire and it seemed that nobody but yourself had truly realised that yet. A suicide mission. To put it simply. 

The very concept of it all had your lips pursing sourly, brows pinched and gaze downcast as your steed carried you forward with the motion of the team. Erwin's orders are barked loud and clear for those mentally present but to you the words are a distant memory, artificial in a sense as his voice blurs out and all of a sudden the only image you're seeing is one of Otis from a few weeks prior. 

The elder man is seated in his usual seat, his eyes trained not on you but instead the fire which struggles to flicker to life. Feeble. Weak. Insignificant.

"If you don't believe you can do it in the beginning, you'll never be able to do it ever." 

You hadn't exactly understood what he had meant in that precise moment or why he had specifically said what he had done to begin with. 

In some way now though, you knew it applied to the very beast of a challenge you were about to face and yet still, you couldn't find it in yourself to have faith that everything would go well. Something was stopping you. Tugging like a fierce reminder at the pit of your stomach that you were to never at any point assume you had the upper hand. Because you wouldn't. Life didn't hand over easy winnings just like that. It was a bitch and you'd known that for a while now. 

"You all good?" 

Mike, much to your surprise, slows his own horse within the darkness of the forest to settle besides your own. This mountain was a real problem for rookies who hadn't experienced a great deal of exterior expeditions, but any Scout who wasn't an idiot also knew that the point of the torches was to illuminate the floor you travelled upon, not the open space directly in front of you.

"I feel bad," you immediately notice the way he rears his head back, almost as if he's waiting for you to expand on what you'd just said, which you do. "Like...something's going to go extremely bad and there will be no coming back from it when it actually happens."

"You sure it's not all just in your head?" 

You scoff and throw a disbelieving glare towards the man.

"Don't give me that shit Bloodhound. I know you also know that something's off. Your nose has been twitching like mad since it was announced that we're nearing the Shiganshina District." 

He says nothing. But that's okay with you because the disturbed expression on his face confirms all which you need to know the second the group is picking up speed again and breaking through the forest lining. The moon-less night is pushed away by the beginning peaks of dawn and with the fresh emergence of a new day, it only brings more awaited horrors and tears. 

None of them will be yours. You will not cry this time around. That's something you can only swear to yourself. 

"All Troops dismount!" 

The experienced blood in your veins has you pulling up on reflex, hips raised as the wires of your gear pulled you towards and atop of the wall. According to Hange's quick run-over before you departed, she quickly filled you in about the inner and outer gate which needed to be dealt with as soon as possible to isolate Shiganshina. The priority first and foremost was the outer gate, to first of all grant a bit of leeway to Eren and the rest of the squad.

You watch the younger Scout dart quickly by with the Lance Corporal leading but your attention is quickly diverted elsewhere with Armin and Mike on either of your sides. The three of you each regard the burnt cinders differently but ultimately the response is the same. 

Erwin's made aware instantly and the sight of it all sets into stone what you really didn't want to address. This was really happening. Right here and now. 

Mike lags behind in Armin's presence to investigate meanwhile you're doing the complete opposite. Erwin glances to you only the once as you seat yourself close by him on the edge of the wall, overlooking the tarnished District which used to be known as home by some of those closest to you. 

"You comfortable gambling as much as what you are doing this time round?" 

"It's necessary." 

That's all he says, but the narrowed look you level him with momentarily sees that icy, power driven façade crack, the quickest shift of nerves flashing through him before the entire slip up is erased from existence. 

You're left dissatisfied but that's an argument for another time as that familiar yellow glow cracks across the sky and leaves behind only the finest of Eren's titan form in a shell casing. The exterior is closed up just like that and although other on looking Scouts take it as the time to partially celebrate, you find yourself doing the opposite.

A feeling rakes it's way up your back and nape, sinking it's claws into your skin and like an animal spooked you draw your shoulders up to your ears and stagger back onto your feet. 

Erwin notices it. The way you appear so tightly wound up and alert even when so many others are releasing a sigh of relief. Armin's troop is split and beckoned back to checkpoint before the blonde is getting anywhere close to figuring out what he must, the mission put on halt with the other half pulling back as the younger Scout's troops smartly begin to inspect the wall itself. 

"Captain Smith?" 

Eren attempts to catch your attention, but it's useless. You're focused solely on a spot which resides only a certain amount of inches away from Armin himself against the wall, breath held tightly in your throat as the chords wrung themselves together and threatened to constrict.

They closely watch the shudder which rushes up you and the way your hands grip lethally around the handles of your blades.

"There." 

That's all you warn, but it's enough apparently to prepare them for the shocker of events which fold one after the other in the space of a few measly seconds. A flare bursts upwards and it snaps all eyes onto the man who had fired it, watching in horror as the cavity just like he'd announced is revealed and from it a blade is thrust into his stomach.

The Scout's body clatters downwards.

The first of many. 

A head of blonde is revealed and whilst everyone is rapt by the revealed enemy, your head is instead swinging in Levi's direction, already anticipating him lunging forward which he does. The blade shoved through Reiner's neck has his eyes rolling backwards but it does very little and Levi as well as everybody else around you realise that the minute the stocky male's body contorts and a spark illuminates your very eyes. 

So this was Reiner's titan form.

The beast flings itself forward, rising slowly in a mass of heated steam but once more, there seems to be greater things brewing and it seems you and Mike know it well as haunted eyes lock onto one another and reflect the multiples flashes of yellow that ignite beyond the boundary of Wall Maria.

You're focused on the abnormal titan and only the abnormal titan as it's body swings out with it's excessively long arm raising in prefect posture and launching from where you stand what is perceived to be a large boulder. It won't hit the Scouts atop of the wall, you already know this and apparently Erwin does too as you spy his unmoving frame.

So this titan was thinking tactically, trapping the horses and marking them as targets to eradicate any means of escape. That very much meant that the fight of who advanced in this constant battle would be decided now. There was no backing out. 

"So!" The smirk which fills your lips is a shaky one, but it's present no less and succeeds in catching the eyes of those who seemed to fear what awaited them the most. "The ugly fucker is back," your hip juts against Mike's frame and the Bloodhound shares an amused arch of an eyebrow with you, the two of you stood to the back of Erwin now. "He apparently brought a few friends too."

"You've clashed with this titan before?"

You shrug. "It can talk." 

"It can?" 

"Yeah. Took a real interest in dumbass' ODM gear," you casually gesture to Mike who looks at you with a brief, scandalised expression. Your smirk deepens.

"So it's intelligent and also has the upper-hand on us by understanding how our gear works?" 

"Well if you look at it like that then...yeah?" You look to your brother in disbelief. "You want to know what it doesn't have?" 

Erwin waits for your reply.

"Looks. It doesn't have looks because it's fucking ugly. So that's a plus side at least." 

"Why do you choose now of all times to be like this?" Levi's glaring at you like he's internally wishing you'll magically combust. 

"I don't know," they finally catch on to the way your legs tremble beneath you. "Probably because I'm scared?" 

There's silence and then the first line of titan's are released forward as Reiner latches onto the wall. 

The first order of the fight is announced.

A thrill electrocutes your body.

Humanity or titans? That's what it boiled down to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	38. Something's Wrong.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's always struggled with the Smith siblings it seems. Regardless of whether it's the brother or the sister.

Erwin's first objective is to have the squadrons split. Levi's and Hange's directed towards the Armoured titan with the use of the thunder spears whilst the mission of the remaining others was to protect the horses beyond the wall which were marked targets by the enemy. It's a clever tactic that your brother has thought up and you can see where his decisions have been made, but you also cannot help the sour taste which blooms in your mouth almost as if a reminder that something would go wrong regardless. 

You turn on the heel of your boot, more than ready to follow Mikasa and Eren when you're catching sight of Erwin halting both Levi and Armin in their path. He speaks low, however his eyes rest not on them but on you. Past the Lance Corporal's shoulder does he gaze with a certain look painted onto his face which almost has you falling back. Almost. Levi and Armin disperse from his sides and although you know you shouldn't, you stalk silently over to the Commander's side. Arms held behind your back, the two of you share iced glances before equally looking towards the Armoured titan perched atop of the wall.

"Let me take it on."

He doesn't need to follow your line of sight to know what you're referring to.

"Levi's got it covered. I don't need you out there put in more danger than necessary." 

The glare which you throw Erwin's way is scathing. 

"You're really going to act like this now of all times? I've seen this titan twice before, I'm technically more experienced than Levi is on this."

Erwin appears how a disappointed parent would look when scolding their badly behaved child, the entire scenario has you sinking uncomfortably into your own skin. Sighing, the two of you ignore Reiner who finally scrambles down from the wall having taken the bait which was Eren in his revealed titan form.

"Let me tag Levi at least. I'm one of the best you've got when it comes to handling the ODM gear and we both know it. Hange has Moblit and Mike, she'll be fine without me." 

"I draw you out from there whenever I want. No arguments." 

You nod, heels clicked together and one fisted hand pressed atop of your beating heart. You're gone before the Commander can say anything more, the wires of your gear pulling you further into the very dangers Erwin had always secretly wished to keep you from.

Sure, you were a Scout and a soldier. One of the best at that! But first and foremost, you were his sister. There were only so much nonbiased orders he could give before genuine worry pushed it's way through and prevented him from acting as a fair Commander. You were family. The last shred of it which he had, so excuse him if he rightly so wanted to keep you safe.

Sometimes, when Erwin looked at you, he could see too well the impacts which the Scouts Regiment and the soldiers within it have had on you. The impulsiveness which had knocked him for spins the first few times he'd fallen victim to you disobeying orders once freshly adopting the title of Commander. The resilience he'd seen flourish within you after being set back again and again and again. Somewhere along the lines, you'd grown into the title shoved abruptly upon yourself and although the limelight wasn't exactly for you as it was for him, Erwin knew long ago that you'd surpassed him.

And he was okay with that. 

"Shit, at this rate they're going to drop like flies. Should have just left 'em up there." 

"Then you best start doing a better job Humanities Strongest Soldier." 

Levi's head has never whipped around any faster, closely scrutinising the way you drop atop of the same rooftop he stands upon with a questionable amount of grace. 

"Why are you here? Erwin strictly told me he wanted you away from the main line of fire." 

With disinterest, you casually inspect the blade of your weapon, letting the Lance Corporal's words briefly fly over your head.

"Last I checked...I am also a Scout." 

He sheaths one blade to reach for the fabric of your uniform cloak and yanks you against him, something simmering just below the surface which you couldn't exactly place to be anger precisely or something else entirely. 

"Well no doubt out here you're my responsibility and I'm telling you now," his breath skims too close to your skin for you to not prematurely forget that you're in the middle of a war zone. "You get the tiniest of scratches on you? I'll kill you. Understood?" 

The cattish grin which fills your lips also has Levi smirking down at you, his second blade finally re-brandished as you twisted and pressed your own back to his. 

"Two titans to your four o'clock. You got 'em?" 

The two in question are both rather small, roughly four or five metres, but you've dealt with an array of different sized titans in your past to now be confident enough in knowing that they don't pose any particular kind of large threat. 

"Sure. I'll take the other three surrounding the perimeter as well before circling back to the main rag of horses." 

He just shrugs, you seem sure of yourself so the Lance Corporal sees no other reason as to why he shouldn't trust and believe in you and your abilities. 

The first two titans go down without a proper fight, hunkering bodies swinging downwards as the flesh to their napes was sliced and removed into the air of the wind. Your quick work has a nearby Scout squeaking in surprise. 

"Move those horses away from the perimeter lining, there's more chance of them being exposed and marked if they're in line of view."

"Yes Captain Smith!" She's raced off with the two steeds trotting after her before you can say anything else.

Finally, your attention turns to the remaining three. Their steps are careless and heavy, weight being flung around with every move the beasts took. 

Your feet kicked off of the slated rooftop, hooks snagging into the shoulder of the nearest titan which you used as grounds to reel yourself in against. Boots skittering against its flesh, the blades in your hands are raised only once you've angled yourself around its nape.

You strike mercilessly.

It drops.

The final two at either side clamber forward, grubby hands attempting to snatch up your heaving frame which you barely escaped. Your foot scraping against the ground in an angled twist results in your body shifting, a cocky incline of your chin the very first thing Levi catches the second he pulls atop of a nearby structure. He doesn't intervene. He doesn't need to.

Instead, the Lance Corporal simply watches as your weapons plunge into the neck of one, lips drawn into a line of firm concentration as you tugged and sliced. The chunk fell away clean. One left which meets a similar demise to that of the previous four.

You drop in a heap, mildly aware of the Lance Corporal's form which lowers down the side of a nearby house, wires keeping him tethered above ground so he was looking over you. 

That familiar, tight sensation is back in your throat. Skin itching like a bad reminder, an unsettling feeling taking root deep within your stomach and gripping at the blood surging through your veins. Nauseous.

Something was wrong. Something was going to go wrong.

"That all you got in you? Five and you're already on your knees?" 

The sound of his voice has you jerking upwards, neck strained to inspect his unharmed self. You frown regardless.

"Oi," he's not impressed with the faraway look gathered within your eyes. It's unsettling. It reminds him of just how quick you are to lose yourself within certain things. A hazard. "Bring your head back down to Earth. I can't have you out of it. Not here. Not now." 

The way he tenses when you reach up to grip the back of his neck goes unchecked, fingertips tightening against the flesh of his nape which for some unknown reason rendered Levi motionless to what would have otherwise garnered a hiss or growl of protest. 

Your touch anchors him down, the tips of his boots barely scraping against the stone of the wall he's hooked to with his head ducking down under the press of your hold. 

Unhinged. That's the only way Levi could describe you in that exact moment, emotions so volatile that he feared whiplash.

Such chaos was all around you both but in the smallest of seconds suddenly the entire world only existed within the scant of breath exchanged between yourself and Levi. It's a thrumming sense of anticipation, knowing exactly what could come but not who would push through first. 

The silken tips of his hair barely wrap around the nimble pads of your fingertips but you decided immediately that if you could, you would breathe in all what Levi is with no second guesses of worry. It's an exhilarating feeling to have him so close, the sensation one which you could get drunk off of if he'd allow you to.

"I am not strong Levi," the murmur of your words rolls onto his own lips, evoking a hitched, broken inhale from him which you faintly catch. 

He wants to say something. He wants to disagree. To snap away from your touch and bark an inch of common sense back into you. He does nothing of the sort. 

Instead, Levi can only shiver under the way you slot your lips so carefully, so hesitantly, against his own. A noise which sounds almost like a plea purrs in the back of your throat but it dies out just as he's furrowed his brows in confusion. The latch you have on him releases and he quickly realises that you'd done what you had to conceal the tears which had fallen. You had been careless not to also remove the evidence which tracked its way down your flushed cheeks.

"No matter what happens to me, make sure that Erwin is always safe. The Corps need him. You, Hange, Mike and the others need him. Humanity would be lost without him," you stumble away from him, a haunted look abruptly steeling your face which left him stunned.

What exactly had just happened?

"What the hell are you saying?" 

"Something's wrong," that's all you say and that's all you get to say before a bone chilling roar shatters the scene and snaps your spine upright in full attention.

That sound...it was familiar.

_It's the sound of an animal who has got nothing left to lose. It means the hunt is drawing to a close._

Sasha's words flash through your mind and are the sole reason you lunge upwards with the help of your gear hauling your body, narrowed eyes scanning the area from the highest building you could throw yourself atop of in an instant. To look beyond the veil of steam proves a difficult task but it's something you manage just fine when the softest of tremors knocks through the soles of your feet. 

Your eyes track more than what they normally would, noticing the quadrupedal titan and the barrels which it carries upon it's back before the beast titan tactically picks one of them up. Your brain makes the connection faster than what Erwin's and Armin's usually would.

"LEVI! The quadrupedal titan! It carried Bertholdt, he's in the barrel!" 

Frozen in horror, all that anyone can do is watch the way the barrel is flung rapidly across the divided space, disappearing within the other side with Erwin stood as a protector upon the wall. You wait. Trying to gauge his reaction is next to near impossible as your brothers face remains as stone walled as usual. Typical. 

There's a daunting silence which falls upon the outer wall's division, most movement stilled as it seemed even the Beast titan was awaiting some form of response from the other unseen side. 

It comes in the shape of a sharp flash, like a newly struck matchstick does it swallow the sky whole. You observe the process in sick fascination, terror balled in your throat as sinew and flesh began to grow into existence. It's head towers above the walls fifty metre limit and you struggle to comprehend the sight of it all. 

So this was the infamous Colossal titan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	39. Death Vale.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're standing in the entrance of the Death Vale, do you hear them scream?

It's a stage of wrenching, silent horror that seems to never pass as the first crumbled piece of debris skims the skin of your temple. Your attention had barely been pulled from the inner side of the wall when the very house beneath your feet crumbled in a mass heap, balance overthrown with a precarious wobble. 

Body curling in on itself, the pain which came from grazing stones cutting into the material of your white Scout pants was seemingly tuned out as it appeared the wails of despair from those within reaching distance rendered you numb. Smoke and dust from the collapsed building kicks up into the air and attacks your eyes and lungs as Erwin's first counter orders are barked out.

"Frontal bombardment! All troops, take cover!" 

Hesitation costs lives, and that was the harshest wake up call you ever had the misery of realising. Therefore, to see that in practice right before your very eyes was something which turned your limbs to butter and made movement extremely difficult. The entire scenario had your head spinning, feet carrying you almost on instinct alone away from the front line of fire, your brother's commands ringing like a half hearted afterthought between your two ears. 

His voice fades out, and all of sudden all that is bouncing around your head is white noise. It buzzes and pounds against your skull, the monotone beating of your heartbeat occasionally pushing through to remind your own body of the natural requirement of oxygen. Dragging in a rough breath of air, your feet catch and trip over scattered planks of wood and rock, dying twitches of limp hands reaching feebly out and brushing your ankle before dropping with a final resounding thud against the cruel coolness of the Earth. 

There's no emotion on your face. Just a steeled blankness that reminds Levi of exactly why you're a Smith the second you stumble upon the furthest stationed troops. It seems only your legs took a hit as he scopes you from head to toe, the white fabric which had earlier covered the skin of your thighs now ripped open and stained red to reveal the bleeding wounds left there as a result of being caught in the crossfire. 

"He missed," that's all you announce, tone dead. "He aimed too high, he'll aim lower next time." 

"Get those horses back towards the wall!" 

"Roger!" 

You recognise him, you realise. He'd been one of the two to help back when the Scouts were fugitives of the law. You momentarily wondered what had happened to that loudmouthed friend of his, Hitch. 

"Hurry! Stay out of line of fire!" 

Distantly, you acknowledge Levi snatching the back of your uniform collar, tugging you along like an untrained dog to the base of the wall where Erwin rendezvous with the rest of the squad. 

"How's it looking?" His grip doesn't leave you, even after rolls of gauze are tossed your way and you sloppily tie them accordingly around each upper plane of your thighs. It was a temporary fix, but it would do for now. 

"Terrible," Erwin replies, only shortly glancing towards your injured state before looking back onto his Lance Corporal. "His throws have destroyed the front line of houses. If he keeps on throwing, everything will get levelled. We won't have anywhere left to hide." 

Levi cranes his head up at the wall. "We can't retreat to the other side of the wall?" 

"No...the Colossal Titan is already heading this way, spreading fire all along his path. Supposing we scale the wall to evade the stones, we'd have to leave the horses. If we retreat here, there's no hope for victory." 

The knot is tied off in a squashed square. 

"What happened with Hange's group? Is Eren alright?" 

"I don't know...but the majority of them were caught in that explosion. We've been dealt a serious blow. The Beast Titan directed the small titans so our soldiers would group up in one place. As such, while engaging the small titans, Dirk squad, Marlene squad and Klaus squad were all wiped out by the bombardment. In other words, our remaining forces this side of the gate consists of our new Scout recruits, Captain Levi, Captain Smith and...me." 

Your heart undoubtedly lies in your throat, terror for the Scouts, the Captains, the horses and even the civilians back within the innermost walls being felt as the severity of this battle came crushing down on you. 

"Erwin...have you got a plan?"

There's a lapse in silence, or maybe you just sink once more into the own confines of your head. Erwin's mouth moves but your ears pick up no sound. It's all just static that crackles but is broken when a rattle atop of the wall tears a ragged, surprised gasp from your split lip. 

"Is that Eren? He got himself flung atop of the wall...by him?" 

Another assault of incoming debris rocks the scene, the force of the throw alone scattering dust and evoking hacking coughs from those who heave it in. Levi's face is stone cold, much similar to your own but for all the wrong reasons. You've torn yourself away from this living moment, there but not actually present as your mind projected you far away, elsewhere. 

"The Beast Titan has a good guess where we're at. This place will look like a honeycomb soon. Erwin, if you're saying we've got no chance to counterattack, let's get ready to flee," he motions emptily up at the titan atop of the wall. "Wake Eren sprawled out up there. Ride him and flee with as many people as possible. At least we'll have some survivors." 

A desperate cry shrills out, one of which belongs to a younger Scout you realise. His words are shaken, fearful with tears in his eyes that fall pitifully. You feel sorry for him. You really do. Because even from a distance you could tell from the droop in his shoulders that he had finally acknowledged the weight in which he was burdened with. The weight which every Scout was inevitably burdened with. You either learn to shoulder it. Or you don't. 

You turn idly back around to witness the growing heat between Levi and Erwin as it appears the two are grasping at straws for what to do. 

"What if whoever's left of the recruits and Hange's group scatter on the horses...and try to make it home? By using them as a decoy, you guys could escape on Eren." 

"Levi. What would you do?" 

"I'm facing the Beast Titan. I'll draw him away." 

"Impossible. You won't even get close." 

"Probably not. But if you and Eren return home alive, there's still hope. Isn't that the best we can ask for at this point? What a huge defeat...to be perfectly honest I doubt a single one of us is making it back alive." 

Hearing humanities supposed strongest soldier admit what he had done so callously wasn't supposed to sting as much as it did do. What kind of a fighting chance did the rest of the Scouts have when Levi himself, the most skilled titan slayer out there, was sceptical of their success? 

"Yes," Erwin replies. "Assuming we had no way to counterattack." 

Your heart leaps, wide eyes filling your brothers vision as even shock morphed across the Lance Corporal's face. 

"Is there a way?" 

You don't like the way Erwin looks at you after Levi asks that. His brows pinch together and his eyes to you almost seem to glaze over. It leaves you frowning, head cocked to the side in confusion. 

"Yes." 

"Why didn't you say that sooner? Why'd you keep your shitty mouth shut?" 

"If the plan goes well, you may be able to take down the Beat Titan. But it will take the recruits...and myself to give our lives." 

Both men catch the sharp inhale that stabs your lungs. 

"No. You can't." 

He infuriatingly ignores you, and even Levi knows to angle his body in a certain way against you so he acts as a physical barrier which stops you from reaching for your brother. It drags a desperate snarl from your lips. Your attempts push and knock his frame, but you're overlooked as if you're simply not there. As if you don't have a say in how Erwin is so willingly ready to throw his life away. 

"It's like you said. Either way, most of us will die. No," he moves to brush past Levi meanwhile regarding you with cold eyes. "It's almost guaranteed we'll all be wiped out. In which case, we can stake our heroic deaths on a slim chance of victory." 

Your hand trembles balled within the fabric of Levi's scout cloak, stumbling after him like a petrified toddler, hoping silently that the Lance Corporal would shoot down the Commanders offered plan. There was no way Levi would let him go through with this. And even if he did, there was no way you were going to! 

"For this to work, to ask these young ones to die, it would take an expert con man and a whole slew of lies. If I do not lead the vanguard, none of them will follow. And I will die before anyone else. Without ever learning what's in the basement." 

Levi's head rears back. "Huh?" 

You watch as Erwin finally drops, seated against the wall of a house which conceals all three of you whilst the blonde releases a tired sigh. You're trying your damn near best to not cry and to certainly not snap, knuckles bleached white from the sheer pressure of your grip. A sniffle or two will betray you every once and a while, but neither of the two men make to address it even though you know they can hear you. You do not care. 

"I...I want to go to the basement. Everything I've done till now was because I thought this day would come. That someday, I could check if I was right. So many times...I thought death would be so much easier. But always, the dream I shared with my Father flashed through my mind. And now, I'm close enough to the answers to reach out and grab them." 

Finally, the first sob breaks forth and it shatters both of them. It really does. 

"They're right there. But Levi, can you see them? Our comrades? Our comrades are looking at us, they want to know what became of the hearts they gave. Because the fighting isn't over yet." 

Yet another influx rattles the scene, but you're immune to it. Haunted in the knowledge that your brother already felt he was staring death in the face. 

"Is it all just inside my head? Nothing more than a childish delusion?" 

The ODM gear at Levi's sides clatters as he moves, and it's as he takes to one knee that you're left to finally spin away from the two. Heart straining against your ribs with pain squeezing it tightly, you bite uselessly into your fist to smother a whimper. 

"You've fought well. It's all thanks to you that we've come this far. I'm making the choice." 

You freeze, a hitching breath stuck uncomfortably in your throat as you awaited the very words Levi chose to speak next. 

"Give up on your dream and die. Lead the recruits straight into hell. I will take down the Beast Titan." 

Uncoordinated feet stumble over one another, clumsy, paralysing feelings sending you lunging forward and crashing into the Commander without a care in the world for proper conduct. Rules be damned. 

"You can't!" You heave, voice scratched and pitched in a soft wobble that even Erwin couldn't act resistant to. "You can't Erwin." 

"I see myself stood atop of too many corpses. It's about time I offered myself to the same fate to do what must be done for the sake of humanity." 

"Then I'll go with you," you're clutching tightly onto his uniform, pressed close like you're fearing he will be prematurely snatched away from you. "Levi and the others would be fine without me! You can't...I can't let you go on your own." 

"Levi," he's all of a sudden glancing past your shoulder onto the best Scout he's ever had the privilege of watching grow who remains knelt before him. "I have one final order for you...and it's to keep her safe."

You're pushed away into his hold the instance he stands, arms snared around you which you thrashed and kicked at. Shrieking to be released whilst sobbing Erwins name. Levi refused to look at you. 

"No. No! Erwin please! You can't," your elbow against Levi's stomach has him wincing before he's strengthening the grapple he has over you and pulling you close against his chest. "You can't do this to me. You're all I have left. Father's already gone...I can't lose you too." 

He stands and just the action alone sends desperation clawing through your veins, limbs flailing helplessly as you writhed within Levi's hold. 

"You promised me! How can we be there for each other when you're going to a place I can't reach!?"

"We both knew what we were getting into the minute we signed up to this life. We knew the risks." 

"That's bullshit Erwin!" Your chest rises and falls erratically. "You talk about the hearts of those lost, but what about those who live huh? What about Hange, Mike and Levi? What about my goddamn heart!? You die and you take half of that with you. I may be a Scout Erwin but I'm first and foremost and forever will be your sister. You're the last shred of family I have!" 

He takes an intimidating stride forward and in defiance do you raise your chin at him, glowering eyes searing up at his own determined ones which heavily contrasted the soft brush of his calloused fingertips wiping away the tears which stained your skin. The gesture may have left you stunned, but it was only natural to press your face further into his palm, a final goodbye that was so bittersweet it curdled uncomfortably within the deepest pit of your stomach. 

"That's exactly why you must stay alive. Please, find out what I will never get the chance to." 

Gritting your teeth proved fruitless in helping cease the trembling which overtook your bottom lip, jutted out and pouting childishly which made Erwin turning away from you that much more difficult. You watch his back for one last time, shoulders as broad as they'd always been, even as a kid where at the time the highest place you'd ever known was sat atop of them where hands wrapping around skinny ankles meant you were safe and secure.

When did things become so complicated? 

When did Erwin's shoulders being the highest point in the world for you change to the walls? When did his hands wrapped around your ankles being the most secure thing change into tricky leather bindings and complex, wired gear? 

When did you both grow up? And why did neither of you seem to actually notice?

You don't know why you do it, but you drag yourself to the highest standing structure by the base of the wall. Partly out of range but at enough of a vantage point that you're given a scoping view of the vale of death which was soon to be created. Erwin's final speech is barely a murmur in your conscience and you know that Levi's looking at you instead of the many Scouts lined up in front of him prepared to die.

The stampede surge forward when Levi pulls back and although chaos rampages on both sides of the wall, it feels like everything in existences slows to a pause when the first set of flares are released up into the deceivingly blue sky. The Scouts fighting spirit is met with a merciless attack and all of a sudden you're flashed back to the medic bay with Hange by your side.

_What sheds blood sheds spirit. _

"Please," you don't know who you're begging, but you hope they hear your plea. "Please I don't want to scream." 

You may not be on the front line, but you hurt as if you're the first soldier wounded and it only spirals downwards from there. Shouts of pain may fill the air but it pales in comparison to what slips from you the second bleary eyes honed in on a crumpling, red form. His horse fell and he alongside with it and then everything went black. 

And maybe Erwin was something akin to lighting, always seen, always marvelled at. Always so fucking bright. And if that were true, then that made you the thunder which accompanied alongside him. Loud, outspoken, brash. But when Erwin were to finally crack? Then you would have no choice but to simply come tumbling after him.

Your legs give way beneath you, knees biting harshly into the rough cut material of the slated roof. Your head bows forward, back hunched to make you impeccably small. A sharp, shaky inhale is drawn inwards and is released on a bellowed, anguished wail. Fallen debris may pound against the ground but the Scouts below and even the Beast Titan itself is sure your screams drown it out. It's attention shifts to you, twisted smile menacing in a way which would have otherwise been frightening if it weren't already for the way your hollow cries seemed bone chillingly dead. 

Something however flickers in the corner of its eye, and the titan is left amazed to realise the other beasts lay down flat in a cloud of steam which lifted up off of their own sliced bodies. Levi is felt before he is seen, blades twisting down an outstretched arm and hacking up the limb before emerging from the heated cloud like how a true nightmare should appear. 

Deadly, dangerous and beyond pissed.

Fresh blades dip in and out of sinew and flesh, booted feet barely grazing the surface of the titans body as his agility made his form incredibly tricky to track. Levi's removed the enemies ability to see and has dropped down to slit the tendons at his heels before a single counterattack can be made in comparison. 

He's back in the sky.

"What happened to all that fun you were just having?" One blade is poised to the front of him whilst the other is brandished backwards and to the side of him. Your cries still ring inside Levi's head, deafening and strong which leaves him shaking under its effects. "Come on. Let's try to enjoy this!" 

The titans other hand, its last final means of defence is stripped away like it's nothing. Heated, angered strikes batter against the nape of the Beast Titan and Levi is proven victorious when a steaming body is cut from its attachment to the larger body with a roar. An elder male with blonde hair and glasses upon his face is revealed as he snaps around to look at the Lance Corporal but he's given no time of day. 

The blade is jammed within his mouth before he can even blink, gagging around the sharp metal as it pushed upwards against his inner cheek and threatened to tear. Levi hardly batted an eyelash, stained with blood of the very titans who he had slain. 

"After transforming, if your body's severely damaged, it's too busy healing to let you transform. Isn't that right?" His skin splits open. "Hey. Answer me. Learn some manners."

His thoughts immediately jump him to the injection Kenny had passed over, wishing that just one person is out there who he could get to on time. It was inevitable that Erwin's face flashed into momentary existence before a disturbance within the fogging steam was detected and Levi had no choice but to lunge backwards and watch distraught as the enemy was snatched up by the quadrupedal titan whom he had been foolish to overlook. 

"Hey...where are you going? Stop..." he's surrounded. "Wait...I made a promise to him...that I'd kill you no matter what." 

The first titan of the last group reaches for him, grubby hands outstretched to cast a shadow across the Scout who appeared to be the only one who still possessed some form of their fighting spirit in tact. New blades are brought out into the open.

"I promised!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	40. A Final Farewell.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It isn't Levi who makes the decision.

You don't exactly know how you manage, but at some point you know you haul yourself atop of the wall. And Levi may be cloaked in heated steam and blood, but to those on the other side who catch sight of your crumpled form you appear that much worse. There's a tense tremble which rakes up your brittle spine, face horrifyingly empty as if your body were a mere shell to a soul that had already long since been removed. 

And the Beast Titan's holder looks to you. He actually has the audacity to peel his eyes away from Levi who slips down the side of the wall to instead wordlessly pass across a message which leaves you indifferent. They'd won. Levi hadn't managed to take down the Beast Titan but even if he had done, none of that would have mattered because in the end? You had already lost. 

Levi clambers atop of the same rooftop where Eren holds Bertholdt hostage, orders spilling rapidly from his lips that you began to hear clearer the more you moved towards the three. He's frantic, tugging on gear with a scared edge to his voice that even unnerved you. 

"That was the last of my gas. I'll chase him! Hand over your gas and blades!" 

Eren fumbles to comply, but all sense of urgency bleeds away from him once catching the faint, wheezy gasp of the corpse to the back of him. Mikasa swings into the scene at the wrong time it could be argued, tears freshly blooming in her eyes whilst yours were in contrast all long since dried up. You drop beside Levi as Eren begs for the syringe you had only laid eyes on once when Kenny had willingly handed it over before croaking his last breath. Heartless, you've no pity left in you whilst gazing upon the charred remains of Armin and it seems your cold exterior knocks Eren for spins as he sought solace in what should have been a sympathetic approach. He gains nothing from you. 

Levi hesitates. 

"Make Armin into a titan and we'll have him eat Bertholt! Hurry up and inject him!" 

Mikasa releases a red flare, the box being brought shyly into sight and scant inches away from grazing Eren's outstretched hand when fisted hands knock atop of the slated rooftop and centres all attention. 

You blanch at the sight you're met with.

"Captain...Levi. I finally found you. Commander Erwin is badly wounded. His stomach is gouged and his organs are demolished! The blood just won't stop! I thought that injection might be able to help but...what do you think?" 

The stunned silence is suffocating and you feel yourself slipping back into your own mind once again. It's inevitable that you scramble to help the young recruit up and gently lay Erwin down, closely inspecting Levi and the reaction he gives once curling the syringe back against his chest and hovering a stained hand atop of the Commander's mouth.

"He's...still breathing. He's...alive. I'm using the injection...on Erwin." 

Eren's up on his feet in an instant, teeth grit and grinding together harshly. "You said you'd use it on Armin." 

"I'm reviving the one who can save humanity. You guys...do you have the faintest damn clue what you're doing? It's Erwin. The Commander of the Scouts. And you're saying to watch him die? There's no time, stay out of my way," he moves for the Commander but is frozen in his spot with a straining hand which was not his clasping around the damn box. "Keep your emotions out of this."

"Keep...my emotions out? Tell me...why did you hesitate in giving Armin the injection straight away?"

"Because I was considering the possibility that Erwin might still be alive."

"You couldn't have known Floch would drag the Commander here! There's just no way you knew!" 

"You're right, but the fact Erwin is now here means I use it on him," there's a physical strain as the two pull but it ultimately ends in Levi using the dirty upper hand and slamming his fist against Eren's jaw in order to dislodge his grip. The young Scout falls but it's not until Mikasa's shrill cry pierces the air that you're kick-started to life.

She lunges for the Lance Corporal and would have otherwise been successful in pinning him down if it weren't for the hasty latch you locked onto her scarf, yanking savagely and listening to the way the fabric choked her wails roughly. She's thrown to the back of you, startled and reflecting a sense of betrayal in those glossed eyes which wavered upon your foreign appearance. You weren't you. The presence which you shared was unnerving, unattached and most of all scary. It was like something had been knocked loose during your own inner conflict and the bad side was winning, rational actions and thoughts thrown to the wind.

And those gathered around you lay witness to it all.

Mikasa can't quite swallow the gasp of astonishment which slips her lips upon hearing the deadly scratch of a blade being drawn and the confirmed clicking of auxiliary switches as the blunt is discarded for the sharpened. It's swung out carelessly against her throat. 

"You should know as well as I do. Without Erwin's talent, humanity can't beat the titans!" 

"That's right Mikasa," Floch takes an unsteady step forward. "Let's stop this madness already." 

Her glare is unmoving from your computed, schooled face. 

"It's no different...if we lose Armin." 

"Eren!" She pushes against your blade, and reclines with a hiss when you finally draw blood. 

"Hasn't it always been like that?" He's slowly pulling himself upwards. "He's the reason why we saved Trost by plugging it with a rock. He revealed Annie's identity. It was Armin who came up with the idea of moving at night. The only reason we uncovered Reiner's hiding spot and only reason we defeated Bertholt was all because of Armin! The one who's gonna save humanity isn't me or the Commander. It's Armin! Isn't that right, Mikasa!?" 

"Shut it!" Finally, you snap and it's at Eren who staggers back at the snarl which ripples through the air. "His brain means nothing if he doesn't have the guts to risk what must be done. Arlert's a coward. It would be wasted on him." 

"The one who will save humanity is Commander Erwin," Floch's voice is timid and it shakes, but you already hold the boy in high regard. He brought Erwin back to you. 

"Shut up!" Mikasa makes another fruitless press towards the blade at her neck and just like her first attempt, she recoils when you add even more pressure in warning.

"I will not shut up...don't think you're the only one's who had it tough! You might not know but, on the other side of that wall there's not a single living soldier. Everyone died when the Beast Titan threw boulders at us. I didn't think anybody could be saved...but Commander Erwin was the only exception. He thought of a plan for us to bite back at the Beast Titan...and we did. We were smashed to bits just as planned. And I'm sure the last thing they felt...was fear. When I found the Commander alive, I was about to finish him off." 

Your glare abruptly whipping onto him has the young male flinching back. 

"But that's going too easy on him...I thought to myself that he ought to taste more of this hell. And then I understood, the only one who can lay waste to the titans...is a devil! And if I can bring back the devil, that must be my mission in life. That has to be why I survived like a coward when everyone else died. So stay out of this!" 

Mikasa breaks past, her own respective blade raised to strike down Floch when two more are flashing onto the scene with an entourage not too far behind. Hange snatches the younger girl back meanwhile Mike's forcefully pulled your weapon into his own grasp. 

"Hange. Mike," Levi glances from one Captain to the other. 

"Hey...you've got to be kidding me..."

"No way..." 

The box clicks open and immediately Mikasa screams.

Hange's grip tightens. "Mikasa! You have to know how much we need Erwin. We can't let the flames of hope extinguish inside the walls!"

"But...Armin could...do that too!"

"It's true, Armin is exceptional. But he doesn't have Erwin's experience and leadership," Hange's wrist becomes prisoner to the anger Mikasa squeezes onto her. "There are people I want to bring back too, hundreds of them. I've had to say farewell since the day I joined the Scouts. But...you know, don't you? No matter who it is, there comes a day to say farewell. I know it's impossible, but you have to accept this. There will be times you can't keep your sanity. It's tough. Very tough. I know. Even so, we have to keep moving forward." 

"Captain," as Levi stands, a hand wraps feebly around his ankle. "Do you know what the sea is? No matter how far you look, it stretches past the horizon. It's a gigantic lake," Floch snatches Eren back, keeping him confined but Eren's words are already lost on your ears. 

You're looking at your brother lying there, knowing that even without the wounds sustained Erwin would have still been haggard and miserably aged. The darkened skin which clings beneath his eyes confirms just as much, hair thin and frail atop of his head. It had once upon a time been so soft and silky, you couldn't remember the last time you'd lightly carded your fingers through it as a jokingly light-hearted greeting and not realised the way it felt like straw against your skin. Withered. Maybe Erwin's shell had become hollow long before yours had, a battered soul simply acting on autopilot for what _he_ thought was necessary. __

_ __ _

Who were you to so selfishly pull him back to a life that even at the best of times you didn't want to live? Erwin had done enough. He'd sacrificed enough. It couldn't be described how much you would give up just for the chance to have him back...but this? That..._thing_ delicately placed inside the wooden box? You couldn't do that to Erwin. You just couldn't.__

_ __ _

You've tugged against the sleeve of Mike's torn Scout jacket and through a wordless gesture he's shown to be reluctant yet willing in releasing you. Tension spikes although the argument drops as all eyes instead glue themselves to you and the way you softly kneel yourself beside Erwin's still body, silent enough to listen to the way he struggles to draw in wheezing breaths. His cold hand is taken into your smaller, clammy one and you cannot help but jump your brain back to what you had assumed to be your final goodbye. Was it...still your final goodbye though? 

"Everyone clear out from here! I'm going to have Erwin eat Bertholdt!" 

They linger, distant and hazed in what they believed to be their final farewell. Tear stained tracks ran down dusted, ashen cheeks and suddenly all who remained was Levi and yourself. He stands by your crouched body, silent, unmoving, _ guarding_ \- almost as if he was waiting for you to do or say something. Anything. Your hand gives a final squeeze to Erwin's and it hurts your heart to hear the way his breath stutters in his throat, almost as if he'd acknowledged you. __

_ __ _

_ __ _

"Levi," it's difficult to move. It's difficult to say what's on the tip of your tongue. 

So it's a good thing you don't have to.

The hand which he uses to help hoist you up quickly moves to palm the back of your head, tugging you in closely to press a sorrowful kiss against the uneven scar etched across your forehead whilst softly mumbling.

"I'm sorry." 

He's used to the way you clutch onto the fabric of his uniform by now. What he is not used to is the way you shake like a leaf against him, slamming a wake up call so savagely against his gut that he's rendered immobile. He's cautious of letting you go because even though neither of you say it, you both know what he's about to do. He's seen it in your eyes. The way you've already released the latch you possessed on those last few attachments. Gone. Completely and utterly lost to the wind. Even Levi doesn't think he recognises you anymore. 

He worries what entails after this, and just how much he's going to have to fight to drag you safely back from the precipice you're so clearly ready to throw yourself from.

"Yeah," peeling away from him leaves you cold and lost, but waiting just at the edge of the rooftop was Mike who had returned for you. "Me too." 

The Bloodhound takes your hand in his own and pulls you against him, regrouping with the others who all watch and wait for the titan which will inevitably begin to form at any given moment. You do not watch for you already know the outcome. Instead, Mike allows himself to be used as a way for you to conserve what little dignity you felt you had left, turned in against his chest with your nose pressed against his shoulder as the first scream of realisation tore from Bertholdt. 

The groups relocating back around to Levi before you know it, holding onto either Hange or Mike, depending on who was closest at any given point. That piece of hope is well and truly lost now, your shell once more hollow and dull with only a numb sensation overtaking your being. 

You want Levi to look at you. To let you know that everything will be okay now even though you knew that you'd both be lying to yourselves. But maybe...you'd be okay with that? Maybe a lie was what you needed to live when the truth became too much?

"Captain...why did you...?"

"Do you think...you can forgive him? He had no choice but to become a devil. It was us who wished for that. And in the end, when he had finally been set free from hell we wanted to bring him back once more. But I think...it's time to let him rest. Erwin...I promised I'd kill the Beast Titan...but it's going to have to wait." 

You can feel the guilty, apprehensive look Hange is giving you before she leans over, thumbs gently lifting sunken eyelids to reveal empty eyes that stared off into nothing. 

"He's...dead." 

You hate the way the younger Scouts subconsciously look to you. You absolutely loathe it. 

The sky clears all too soon you'd argue, with Sasha and Armin's freshly retrieved self resting up atop of the wall. The remaining Scouts are scattered, hunting for any potential survivors but it seems the numbers really are at a low one when a green flare recalls the group back in. 

Armin doesn't even have the guts to look at you but that's okay because you can't bring yourself to look at him either, heart spiking with too much pain even when the slightest thing such as his voice was heard. 

"So, after we sealed Shiganshina's gate...Reiner, the Beast Titan and another titan all managed to escape together. Bertholt was captured and after disagreements over whether to use the injection on me or Commander Erwin, I became a titan...and ate Bertholdt?" He gags, a water canister thrust into his possession which has you rolling your eyes and turning away from the group. The three older Scouts regard you wearily. "Why me? No matter how you look at it, that injection should have gone to the Commander. Captain, why did you choose me?" 

Levi kicks Eren's back. "I told you to tell him everything. Your friends here didn't agree with that line of thinking." 

"Levi wasn't the one who made the decision," you turn and finally attempt to stomach the sight of him. "I was. Your friends threw tantrums, kicked and screamed their way through getting their own way. So I let them have what they wanted. Congratulations Arlert, you were brought back to the same shitty life with no form of escape. Make sure you give them your thanks. You've become the very thing we pledge ourselves to killing." 

Levi whirls on you so fast you wouldn't be surprised if he gave himself whiplash.

"Oi," it's a weak warning. "Don't."

You shrug in response, tugging absentmindedly at the wrapping around your thighs which Hange had re-applied after somehow finding the time in the space of the four hours it had taken Armin to come to.

"Why? Don't misunderstand. I may have influenced who lived and who died but I did it to give my own damn brother the rest he deserved. Your friends preached you were useful? _Prove it._" __

_ __ _

_ __ _

"Alright," Hange cutting across your verbal beat down is what finally brings you back to some form of rationality. Only the thinnest shreds of it. "If Armin is alright, then I think it's time to press on. Levi, Eren, Mikasa, Smith, and I will proceed with the investigation. The remaining four under Mike's orders will remain on lookout." 

"Roger."

"Eren, I hope you still have that key." 

"Yes, it's right here." 

The five of you drop promptly, following closely on Eren's tail who leads the Scouts down what would have been a quaint neighbourhood. 

"Well, where's your house?" 

"O-Oh, right." 

Slinking up heavy, stone steps takes the five to a dilapidated house.

"We're lucky the fire didn't spread this far." 

"Here. This is where the stairs to the basement are." 

It's pried open, a latch underneath being dusted clean before Eren's pulling the creaking, wooden door open and revealing stone stairs that descend further and further into unwelcoming darkness. Hange procures a lantern.

"Thank goodness. It hasn't flooded." 

Levi and yourself take the lead, with the younger Scouts close behind and Hange closing up in the rear. The key from around Eren's neck jiggles within the lock and in horror does he stumble back.

"It doesn't fit." 

"Hah?" 

"But that's the key Dr Jaeger always carried around?" 

The lantern is passed over to you which you anticipate with open hands. 

"Move out of the way. I'll open it." 

It's kicked open easily, the rolling of your eyes missed by Levi but picked up by Hange who smirked at you before following you inside to what initially appeared to be nothing more than a study. 

"My Father was a doctor. He used to spend a lot of time down here making medicine." 

"Well, if these labels are accurate this is all ordinary medicine. All of the books are medical in nature. It's all very normal for a doctor's study. There's nothing in here that stands out. Or atleast, it's set up to give off that impression." 

"If he was trying to hide anything from the Interior Police, we won't be able to find it with a cursory glance," the Lance Corporal turns to Eren and Mikasa. "Come on, you brats, don't just stand there. Erwin's intuition wouldn't be that far off." 

"Yessir."

It's by chance that Mikasa finds what she does, another keyhole belonging to a compartment within the doctors desk, it's opened swiftly.

"It's empty?!"

"No. Look closely. It's got a false bottom." 

A single book wrapped in cloth smelling of charcoal and mint oil is placed atop of the nearest table, opened with caution to disclose what upon first impression you would have assumed to be a drawing. 

"Is it a portrait?" 

"Let me see it," Hange's quick to scrutinise the piece of paper. "No, it looks far too detailed to have been drawn by the human hand." 

"There's writing on the back."

_This is not a drawing. This is an image created by capturing light reflected off the subjects and chemically burning it into a special type of paper. It is called a photograph. I come from a land outside the walls where humans live in luxury. Humanity has not perished. I only hope that one of my fellow countrymen will be the first to lay hands on this book..._

You can't help it. Your head involuntary knocks backwards as Hange reads the words aloud, eyes slipped closed with your brothers young face cast across your mind and smiling proudly.

Answers. Answers brought you one step closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	41. A Lost Sense Of Faith.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lily trail leads Levi to the most broken of them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty sad, I just wanted to maybe advise you to read with caution.

A crash rattles the silence of the night, it draws in nosy members of the Military Police and scares away wandering civilians who had perhaps got a bit too close to governmental grounds. Deep below, Eren and Mikasa press their backs against the cold bricks of their cells whilst Armin watched them with wide eyes, a blanket wrapped around his cold form. A startled shout of terror had tore from Eren only seconds ago, and yet already Levi is divided on what the hell he needs to inspect. 

Mike dismisses him, assures him that he will make a visit to the three with Hange in tow, meanwhile Levi's advised that he should try pick up a track on where that crash had come from. He doesn't need to overanalyse too much to know where, but what's frustrating to know is that by the time he's stalking through the private quarters, he's by default already one step behind. 

The door's already unlocked, cracked ajar and swings open even wider with a chilling squeak when he gently splays his fingers against the oaken wood and pushes. The place is trashed. He wouldn't openly admit it, but Levi's left stunned at the sight which greets him. 

Ash from a hastily knocked torch can be tracked across the cluttered floor, books and stray pieces of parchment paper strewn atop of the desk and window ledge, accompanying blotches of staining ink splattered wherever there was space. The sheets looked to have been torn from the cot in a hurry, bundled in a heaped pile to the corner of the room as if the person who had resided here was looking for something. What they were looking for could not be found. Levi already knew that. And it seemed they did too from the looks of the shattered glass which was scattered dangerously, the hanging hooks of a mirror now uselessly protruding from the wall. 

What they had been looking for was long since lost within the Shiganshina District, preserved only with the thinnest of a Scouts cloak which could tell more stories than any other person would ever be capable of.

Levi wasn't stupid. He could tell what had happened here just from the mess alone and he was fully prepared to leave the matter alone for as long as need be, until the wanining moonlight peaking through ripped curtains highlighted something that sent his heartbeat spiking. There isn't a lot of it, but he catalogues each instance of it anyway. From the splatters against the flooring all the way to the smeared glass of the window which has been unlatched and yanked open.

An exit had been made through the window. Had someone bothered to visit prior to himself and excused themselves once also seeing the mess left behind? That would explain the unlocked door, but if that were the case, then who? If it had been one of the remaining Scouts then the entire ordeal would have been brought to Levi's attention in a heartbeat. Mike hadn't known where the noise came from in the first place, so none of the younger brats had bothered to investigate either. A member of the Police Brigade perhaps? 

It didn't matter either way. All what he was focused on from here on out was the fact that he had a clean trail to track and there was blood involved. The Lance Corporal follows what he naturally assumes to be the exact same route taken, agile body swiftly ducking through the open window and jumping the small drop to follow the clues which led him further into the courtyard where few other soldiers could be seen.

As usual, there's a bonfire roaring but there's no laughter or sloshed dancing tonight with drinks in hand. Instead there's hushed murmurs and bodies pulling in tighter against one another, hands held out against the licking heat to find some source of warmth. The winds of the night were especially brutal tonight, each time a gust passed it felt like it managed to pluck just that little bit deeper. 

Levi momentarily shudders, trying to shrink further into the comfort of his own Scouts jacket before glancing backdown and noticing that after a while the red trail just...stops. He stands at the end of it, looking both left and right before familiar faces are passing him by.

"Captain Levi. Is everything alright?" Jean towers over Levi so the fact that he has to strain his neck upwards to look at him is beyond annoying. 

"Smith...have you seen her?" 

"Captain Smith? No, I'm sorry. I can't say I have sir." 

"What's that? Looking for Captain Smith?" Connie wanders over a second later and waits for Levi to briefly nod. "Last I saw her she was passing the mess hall on the other side of the courtyard." 

The wind picks up again, rustling loose clothing but also bringing to Levi the one thing he hadn't expected. It catches in his hair, soft yet irritable with every flutter it made. The Lance Corporal pries it into his fingers with narrowed eyes, closely inspecting the lines of detail imprinted against the silk softness of the fresh petal. Both Jean and Connie stare hardly at it as Levi turns to face the direction it had flown in from, conveniently finding another scatered line which passed the directions Connie had supplied.

"I'm pretty sure I also recall her carrying something. Looked to be a bouquet of some sort." 

Levi's following it faster than he can blink, that one stray petal clutched tightly in his hold as he frowned at the way the white was stained so horrifyingly red. He's beginning to worry. Once more, the path of petals ends pretty short, so much so that Levi's still close enough to the bonfire on the other side of the courtyard to feel it's warmth. He debates on whether he should inspect the mess hall just as a precaution, but it seems he will have no need to when he finally, by luck, stumbles across who exactly he had been looking for. 

You assume you're the only one who can hear your miserable sniffles, legs drawn up to your chest, held there with arms that wrapped around your body like a snare with your chin propped atop of your knees. Discarded at your side is a lush bunch of carefully arranged lilies, the paper wrapped around them tied off in a daunting, black ribbon. You'd only been able to smile when Zackly and Nile had presented them to you with an offer of their most deepest condolences. In truth, you hadn't wanted to be there and you could tell that they didn't either.

Being avoided like the plague by most and pitied by the small few - the festering sensation of anger and loathing only managed to swell and grow larger with every moment which passed that you were on your own. 

Something scratches against the slated rooftop you're seated upon, head snapping around so quickly you give yourself whiplash. The sight of Levi leaves you stunned, and all of a sudden you're snatching the flowers at your side up and into your hold to press your face embarrassingly into them. He'd seen you crying. 

"Have you come to pity me too?" It's spat out, disgusted with a tense coil of fingers around the poorly torn bandages at your thighs. You'd ripped and tugged on them in a flurrying instance of frustration, and mentally Levi connected the dots of where the red trail had finally come from.

"No," he tentatively moves for you, slowly lowering himself down to barely skim your side with his own as his legs in contrast dangle carelessly over the ledge of the building. Levi's used to silences, he welcomes it. But with you, it feels so wrong. It scratches up his skin and leaves him uncomfortably prickled before you're finally pulling the lilies away from your face and turning into him.

You're sluggish, tired, and worn out. Eyes bloodshot with puffy skin that's sensitive to touch from the amount of times you'd wiped at your face with the rough material of your sleeve. There are tears which still cling to your lashes - every now and then falling to race down the curve of your nose where they collected at the glossed, red tip. The merciless cold was playing just as much of its part as what your anguish was. 

"How are the others?" 

"Fucking annoying, as per usual. Mike and Hange went to check up on them. Something must have been wrong with Eren. Guess we'll find out later." 

"Later? You don't intend to visit them yourself?" 

"No. Mike and Hange have got it covered," he rests back on his arms, head craned back to inspect the moon hung high up in the sky. The flames dance across Levi's form, leaving him half basked in the light and the other in shadows. Always a goddamn mystery. "Besides, no one's telling me...but I know when I'm needed elsewhere." 

"Say...Levi...do you think Erwin would have been happy with the answers we found down in that basement?" 

"Hah?" He subtly glances down, instantly recognising the way your hand begins to flex and tense around the bouquet in your grasp. You were fighting back the shakes which threatened to possess your body and swallow you whole. 

"Eldia...Marley...the Great Titan War? We've walked away from this with more questions than what we went in with. And now we're supposed to simply believe that one of the first titans to ever walk the Earth is in the possession of a kid who pledges to single-handedly wipe them all out? Seems all a bit too convenient if you ask me." 

"He's a nuisance but he's an aid to the cause." 

"I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. There's something going on inside that head of his, I see it whenever I look into those eyes. He's a disaster waiting to happen."

"Use your head. Don't let emotions sway your thoughts."

"I know what I feel when I look at him Levi. And although I'm angry, I can tell the difference between a sense of betrayal and chaos walking. _He_ is chaos walking."__

You know Levi's going to brush over the topic, but that doesn't bother you. Your thoughts on the matter have been put out there and as long as Levi's aware, that's good enough for you. There's still too much that doesn't add up, and unlike the others you haven't got time to be complacent with what _has_ been found whilst there's still so much yet to be uncovered. You're sceptical and damn rightly so. He sighs.__

"...I need you to talk." 

Your brows furrow, legs slightly going slack in their tight press against your chest as you sucked your lower lip in between your teeth to gnaw nervously. 

"I am. I don't know what you mean?" 

The Lance Corporal twists to face you from where he's sitting, eyes intently focused on your own as he swiftly reached forward and pressed a pointed, tough finger just below your clavicle. It's such a simple action, such an empty gesture, so why the hell do you crumble the second it happens? Your wound position finally drops, like a ball of released yarn do your limbs give way uselessly - so numb that your body no longer even has the fight left in it to tremble against the cold. 

"You know what I mean," he's barely husked those words against the crown of your head which bowed low in against his chest, petals scattered across his lap which you practically near shoved yourself into. 

He can feel the sharp intake of breath you snatch inwards, but nothing is released. You just hold it there, in your scarily hollow chest until he's reaching around and placing a splayed hand gingerly across your back. Levi gets the reaction he's fishing for when it finally shudders back out of you, the first sob which you so desperately wished to conserve muffled into the fabric of his jacket you pressed your face so closely to. 

"That should have been me. I was always expendable." 

"That's not true. Erwin would have never agreed to such a thing in the first place, and I know you know that." 

Your chin wobbles as you drag yourself closer into Levi to prop it atop of his shoulder, barely taking notice of the way he skilfully shucks off his Scouts jacket to pull it securely around you. There's the whistle of the wind which passes by, piercing through a moment so fragile Levi was surprised it hadn't shattered yet. 

"Was it foolish of me to wish that I could actually walk away with all those who I hold close to me alive and well?" Your voice brushing against his skin evokes more goosebumps than the cold ever could.

"There are always losers and winners in a war. And that was just a battle." 

You pull away so abruptly from Levi it's almost like his words stung. Your teeth grind together in a bitter display and without so much as a second thought, you've flung the delicate bunch of perfectly picked lilies into the roaring flames of the bonfire. The Lance Corporal watches wordlessly as the embers eat them up, stems and petals coiling into nothing more than ash and cinders. Steeled eyes reflect the anger that the blaze signifies and Levi can't help but feel compelled at the sight of it all. 

As always, caged ice meets a raging inferno and the sparks which fly are as consuming as they are dangerous. 

"Yeah? Well pretty flowers don't bring back the dead. We take such giant hits to get practically nowhere. Sometimes I wonder why Erwin bothered at all." 

"Erwin was fighting for the same thing we all are." 

The look which graces your face is so lost, so heartbreakingly defeated that Levi simply can't help the way he reaches forward to trace the scar across your forehead, something you'd come to realise he paid quite a bit of attention to. Was it due to it being unsightly? Did he view you as weak? Or was it to do with the fact that Levi had secretly despised that he hadn't been there to stop it happening in the first place? 

His eyes would always give a secondary flicker to your arm, where lying beneath the thin material of your shirt he knew another beast of a scar lay. Proof. That's what it may have been to you. Proof that you were strong enough to survive in this wretched world filled with man-eating titans. But to Levi? They were fragments that served as a reminder to him that he could never fully fulfil Erwin's last order. If he couldn't do it then, what made him so sure he could do it now?

All of the bitterness and anger you've tucked away and harbored seems to finally squeeze out of you then, body slumped forward in earnest defeat. You shrug further into Levi's jacket that still hangs from your form and just like that he's flashed back to the very first day past him would have said to have had the misery of meeting you. 

You're so small and feeble in his presence as of current, and distantly Levi swears he can almost hear Isabel cooing over how cute you are with a mumbled agreement from Furlan. He hadn't known back then just how much of a problem you'd be in cracking at his typical cold fronted façade. 

Erwin warned you that _he_ was somebody who you shouldn't fall in love with? You were the sort of girl Kenny had always annoyingly told him would be impossible to find in this crazy set up of life. __

_ _The flames begin to sputter it seems, dying out for the night which means it's well past the time for you to be dragged back inside and have your legs re-treated and wrapped. Hange wasn't going to be impressed. Levi motions for you to follow him down, but he just can't seem to break the trance which you have locked onto the moon before you're uttering the question which the answer is always changing to._ _

_ _"What now?"_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any errors made~


	42. The Mightiest Fell.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're not sure what happens next, but you know you'll be just fine.

You gain no comfort from the Scouts coat Hange had insisited you be decked out in like the rest of them - if anything it made you crave the broken in, soft material of Levi's uniform jacket that much more. Your shoulders hunch high, drawn to the tips of your ears in obvious dislike.

You didn't want to be there. Everyone knew it. Everyone knew about you. The left behind Smith. The sole survivor to a family who knew too much and nevertheless always seemed to want to ask more. The sister to a brother whose actions were perceived as bad by the majority because the lives lost on his behalf outweighed the overarching intention of a better tomorrow. The daughter to a Father who was getting close to something much beyond the value of what his own life was, and therefore suffered for it. The Hidden soldier...except she wasn't exactly so hidden anymore.

And that was okay.

That's what you told yourself atleast.

In truth, there was only so much optimism you could bare your own body to fake before like a marionette on strings the wood would splinter and chip - except in your case it would be burdened tears soaked into something which also swallowed your wails of anguish like a dark secret. No one could know. No one should know. In the eyes of others, you're supposed to be strong, calculative - invincible. So why is it that whenever a pair of eyes glides across you, you feel yourself splitting at the seams all the more?

And even now, despite being knelt in the Queens presence you're not really there. You're mentally playing over that face Erwin had left you with when he'd spoken a plan so horrendous out there on the field you'd felt yourself internally gag. There's this lost, dazed look in your eye which only worsens the instance the bolo tie so similar to Erwin's is placed over your head by Queen Historia's gentle hands.

You're gone. A hand may be placed atop of where the human heart should lie but in reality you know that yours is long since lost. You lost half when you lost your father and unsurprisingly Erwin took the final half with him when he led a cavalry into the awaiting jaws of death. 

It was hard to look for the silver lining when grief had left you so blind.

Your head raises only in the slightest when the Queen's hand is held out in offer to you, taken into your hold which still trembles no matter how much you will yourself still. The softening of Historia's eyes is missed. 

You're nowhere to be seen once the ceremony draws to a close. You just disappear from those wandering eyes, existence a mere whisper amongst the halls which fill out with aimless bodies the more idle time passes. 

Both Hange and the younger Scouts had looked to Mike for even the faintest idea of where you could have possibly ran off to, but the Bloodhound had no reason to even try and track you down for he already knew. And Levi damn well did too.

The route to the barracks is a hauntingly familiar one, your Mustang leading you there like it was only yesterday you'd been dragged back into this unforgiving life. Gods you wanted to hate Erwin. Wanted to scream and curse his selfish ways...but that wouldn't be true now, would it? You didn't hate Erwin. Didn't hate that what he'd done is given humanity another shred of hope. 

What you hated is that he could no longer be here with you now. Hated the fact that he fit the role of Commander so well like a glove that you'd never truly thought in your younger years exactly what kind of dangers he would be inevitably putting himself in. You hated the fact that Erwin was gone and you couldn't do nothing about it. 

No amount of skills with your ODM gear, no amount of kills and assists out in the field and no amount of experience within the Scouts would prove to be of any use to bringing your brother back.

He was gone. And he'd taken the better half of you with him. 

Breathless murmurs of lingering ghosts seem to caress your neck as you stalk the abandoned hallways, past the locked doors to the mess hall and around the corner to stand with your toes pressed against the wood of a door you didn't know if you had the courage to push open or not. 

It creaks open at the faintest of touches from frozen fingertips, a sudden assault of heavy, strong cologne clogging the nose and evoking tears which you couldn't differentiate from being ones of pain at the sting or helpless longing. Regardless, you allow yourself a moment of hesitation before shouldering your way inside, a stunned form of silence snatching you up as regret siezed you whole.

You shouldn't have come here.

The glass lid to his ink pot is missing, a quill soaked against the desk alongside scattered pieces of parchment. He'd left in a hurry. The chair is dragged out at an awkward angle, the wicks to a candle he seemed to always favour burning lost to the bottom of the now hardened, cool wax. It's always been a tight squeeze to duck down behind the desk and find exactly what you'd travelled all this way in search of.

Closure.

The etchings grazing your fingertips seem to carry a whole new weight this time, leaving you with a dull ache which rested to the back of your ribcage. And then there was one.

'Smith'

Just one.

Your Mustang abruptly whinnies from outside the barracks and the sounds leaves you skittish, jumping in surprise and accidently knocking the chair backwards. Something flutters from its position of being hastily discarded. Right into your lap does Erwin's jacket fall, the very same one you'd crafted as a gift a few years back. A belated birthday present is what had been written on the letter to Erwin which accompanied the item of clothing.

It's bunched around bleached knuckles, nuzzled against your face as you pulled yourself even further underneath the desk and curled into the smallest position possible. You do not cry. There are no tears. But if you were to scream...you wondered if there would be anybody out there who could hear you. Anybody who would stop and listen. Because your cries told stories and they blistered at the tip of your tongue like wildfire.

For a while, there's a cold yet comforting sense of peace which comes with being alone. There's no titans, no deaths, no blood and pain, no vulnerable emotions placed on the line. There's just you and in a sense that's always what it boiled down to. 

The restrictive coat is stripped and left discarded angrily against the toppled seat, Erwin's jacket oversized at your wrists and shoulders as well as longer in length as you delicately shrugged it on. Your own black leather jacket may have remained folded atop of your pillow back in your own room, but that was where it was destined to stay. 

You weren't just shouldering your own burdens now. You were shouldering Erwin's unanswered questions and motives too. His life long quest now your own because you vowed to finish what he had started. 

So yeah, maybe Mike isn't there this time to offer a reassuring hand and a sweetly stitched handkerchief, and Hange isn't there to utter obscured, wise words of advice and maybe, just maybe, Levi isn't there to be a shoulder to cry against and a clutch of support. 

But...that's okay. 

That's okay because what Erwin chose to do is something which you without a doubt would grow to respect. And although you're hurting now, the understanding and gratitude for your brothers self sacrifice would be something which would forevermore stick with you. You don't hate your brother. You hate that he was taken from you before he could see the end of what he'd so tirelessly fought for.

You hated the injustice of it all.

So when for the first time in six years after the breach of the wall the Scouts venture past Wall Maria, you decide that for just this moment alone, you'll let the bitterness slip from your veins. You'll stand on a ground free from the darkness which usually plagues you because a source of light lies within reaching distance. The usual cloak which the rest of the Scouts wear isn't found on your back, instead the cracked leather of your brothers jacket billows open as the wind rakes through it, pulling on loose clothing and tugging at the mane of your Mustang. 

Sand is kicked up and attacks lungs but you merely grit your teeth through it, hands loose around the bridle and full trust placed within the life of your horse as your head knocks back to gaze openly at the blue skies stretched above.

Little did you or any of the others know something much clearer would reflect those same skies.

Sand slowly transitions into fresh grass as the group hauls themselves up a steep incline and all of a sudden you're left breathless at the scene so prettily displayed before you. It passes over you all, horses wearily dismounted and the large body of water gaped at some more before boots are yanked away, trousers are cuffed upwards and the younger Scouts are racing fast for the water. 

The sea. 

Your Mustang drops to roll and graze against the grass, a thankful hand pressed against his muzzle before you silently seated yourself and simply watched your fellow Scouts cackle with fingers and toes dipped into the water which contained so much salt it left your tongue dried as the wind carried it on each passing gust. 

Armin stands to your side in a fleeting, unexpected second. Silent in your company but not for long.

"I truly am sorry for what happened in Shiganshina. It should be the Commander here right now...not me." 

You say nothing for awhile. You just splay your fingers against the blades of grass and lean back on your hands whilst gazing openly at the clear sky. A soft hum in your throat has Armin reassured that you had indeed heard what he'd said.

"No...I don't think that to be true," he looks down at you the same time you angle your head to meet his eyes. Similar - in a sense - to your brothers. Still oh so innocent though and not yet hardened by the trauma which in truth you wished none of these kids would ever have to face. Kids...because that's what they were. "It was wrong of me to say what I did back there Armin and for that I'm sorry. I'm sorry this has been shoved on you but I'm also thankful." 

His head snaps around in shock. You smile sadly at the gesture. 

"Thankful?" 

"Because of you...Erwin can finally get the rest I know he needed. You're shouldering so much now and so many will automatically rely on you but that's okay...because we all believe in you and we're all here for you. You're just as much of an asset to this team. I'm sorry...but at the same time I'm not...because I know you're strong, and I know you're resilient enough to pull through with whatever this life throws at you. You made just as much of a sacrifice as what Erwin did, and I recognise you for that." 

His eyes fill with unshed tears but they do not fall. Connie calls for him distantly and with a genuine smile and a soft incline of your head, you send him off. The blonde smiles, a mutual understanding passed between the two of you before he's racing off towards the others. 

You don't get to enjoy your independence for long.

Levi drops beside you with a disgruntled huff, the last words of a warning to Hange dying on his tongue as even Mike hesitantly prodded and inspected whatever the waves chose to spit out. You lean into him without a second thought, neatly chopped ends of his hair barely brushing the surface of your cheeks. 

"For a while I just want to stay like this. Where everything for a short period feels okay." 

"That's not how this works." 

For a change, your head knocks playfully against Levi, your smile pressing against the skin of his throat. 

"I know," your breath evokes goosebumps. "I'm worried what follows after this." 

"You weren't worried before?" 

He feels you shake your head against him. 

"No." 

"Why?"

"Because I was naïve. I left the Survey Corps and I let myself forget the pain of losing somebody close to me, even if I hadn't though...I was always going to assume Erwin was invincible. He was my big brother. In my eyes I thought no harm could ever come to him, but I was wrong and all I could do was watch as the mightiest of us all fell."

"That wasn't your fault," Levi's voice steels over like a sharp flint. "Erwin made his decision just as much as I made my own."

The silence which abruptly hangs over the two of you is deafening, Levi's words ringing through the air until you're angling yourself to stare into those blizzard filled eyes of his.

"I don't blame you. You know that don't you?"

He's hoping you miss the way his shoulders draw upwards before slumping all together. There's no anger on your face, no everlasting hatred in your voice. You're just there...here with him now. How had Levi never truly seen that before? That you were there all along, even after he felt like the last man standing when Isabel and Furlan left, you were still there. Always within viewing distance and just beyond the precipice where he could reach and pull you back against him if he truly felt like it. 

The sun kisses at exposed skin and there's laughter in the air.

You don't know when you're going to experience something like this again. It's so...surreal. 

"You did what we both knew I couldn't," you catch the way he stiffens at your words but do not remove your presence from being so closely pressed into his side. A heavy breath is drawn inwards, like you're easing something turbulent raging inside of you and the result which it leaves is stilled hands which reach for each lapel of the Ackerman's jacket. "I couldn't blame you even if I wanted to." 

"I shouldn't have taken that decision from you." 

You shrug softly, and the head-strong way in which you're handling this very moment renders Levi stunned in various ways. 

"You think I would have been able to think straight if that box had been in my hands?" 

"You're his sister. It was supposed to be your deci-"

You know you shouldn't, but your mind blanks when you attempt to conjure up the best solution of removing Levi from the current topic of conversation. Therefore, you don't really know what thoughts (or lack thereof) are running through your mind as you on muscle memory alone pull Levi flush against you. His chest crushes with a comforting weight against your own, and maybe Mike smirks and Hange cackles prior to lunging for the tall man when they each catch sight of the two of you. 

And yeah, you'd told yourself you would wait. But shutting Levi up happened to be incredibly difficult to do because he took it in a bad way normally no matter what approach was taken so instead, all caution was thrown to the wind.

It's a method which is proven successful. 

Lips pull across one another in a slow caress, and honestly you're about to pull away once achieving what you had set out to do. That idea crumbles like a soaked cookie though when Levi's hand raises to cup the back of your neck and hold you there, a soft rumble purring in his chest that draws a gasp from you and he has the damn nerve to smirk against your lips in response. 

"I don't think this is what Erwin had in mind when he entrusted your safety to me."

The grin filling your face has Levi feeling dizzy. 

"You're reading too much into the fine print. Erwin knew what he was doing when he said what he said." 

It's inevitable that he rolls his eyes before something soft overtakes his expression.

"You'll be okay."

"I know," you nod as your lock your fingers around his, standing with a huff and drawing him up with you to hesitantly stand at the edge of the shore. "I've got you. And Mike. And Hange. As well as the strangest team of Scouts I've ever seen in all my time of being apart of the Survey Corps," the rippled water reflects against your eyes which for once, after so long, finally seem clear. "I've got hope."

A wave tumbles over to gingerly lap the tips of your boots and when it pulls inwards once more it takes a bit more with it. A snort followed up closely behind with a cackle is all which the Lance Corporal catches the last of before firm hands are planting themselves against his back and he's shoved in the deep end head first. 

Dreaded silence sweeps the scene as the splash his body makes when breaking the waters surface tension is heard and yet, unlike the others, you're confident enough to beam cheekily down at the most feared Scout known to man. 

"Meanwhile...why don't you shut up and cool off?" 

He looks up at you incredulously, lips parted to openly gape whilst he's lunging forward and splashing water your way before latching a familiar hand around your ankle, yanking you in at his side. The indignant screech which slips you has the crowding Scouts laughing, tension eased over easily as you dropped atop of Levi and dragged him beneath the surface attached to his hip with a bubbling laugh that he'd hit repeat on over and over again if he could. 

"For now I want to pretend that everything is alright," you're safe with Levi, knowing that just beyond his shoulder you can spy Hange and Mike as well as the rag tag team of teens you hadn't intended to grow so attached to but in the end just couldn't have helped yourself. "Even if it's just for a short while." 

Because you know that when tomorrow arrives and dawn sets the sky on fire, this feeling would be long gone. Levi's arms wrapped around you in this fuzzy moment would become a fond memory as the severity of this reality you didn't wish to face hunkered down on you. 

It was okay though. It was all okay.

"Everything's going to be fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANNNDD we're done! Thank you so much for sticking with me through this story, it honestly means so much to me and I've grown so fond of this particular fic. 
> 
> Apologies for any errors made~


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